A Fluffy Fic a Day Keeps the Boredom Away!
by Blenderguy15
Summary: Are you having a rainy day? Does it feel like Happiness just keeps eluding you? Do you find it hard to crack a genuine smile? Then come one, come all, to this collection of one-shots based on Zootopia! Inside, you will find romance, comedy, and general happiness surrounding the everyday lives of your favorite characters! If you're lucky, you may even find a favorite OC in here, too
1. Sick Day

**And so begins a hopefully fun journey! This will** _ **not**_ **take priority over Family Ties; instead, this will be where I turn to get rid of Writer's Block or if I just want to write something funny and fluffy. I hope you all enjoy the merciless amount of happiness and fluff that this collection will bring!**

 **Also, a huge thanks to Birchly for letting me use their art for the cover! Go check out more on their DeviantArt and/or Tumblr!**

Thanks to the weather machines installed at the edges of each district, the weather _anywhere_ was as perfect as it could be on a good day. Today was one such day; the sky was a cool blue, birds merrily chirped as they flew on the breeze, and mammals were milling about in the streets as they went about their work day.

"Achoo!"

Unfortunately, one special kit wasn't able to enjoy the outdoors as he currently had one annoying cold. Fortunately, this meant that he got to spend the _entire_ day with one of his parents, both of which were right now discussing who was going to stay. The kit didn't care about who was chosen; both of his parents were the coolest in the city – in his "humble" opinion, that is.

Stanford "Stan" Wilde lay in his bed, gazing out the slightly ajar door at his parents. The young kit smiled as he tried to guess who would stay. Would it be his mother, a brave bunny that always showed Stan how much he meant to her? Or would it be his father, a silly but smart fox who could always make Stan laugh? Part of the kit wanted _both_ parents to stay, but that was rare given that they were both police officers. However, that fact made the days that both Nick and Judy had off all the more fun!

As it seemed that a decision had been reached, Stan could hardly suppress a giggle as he decided to hide under his blanket before his parents entered the room. The young kit covered his mouth with his paws to keep himself quiet as he heard his bedroom door open and his parents step inside.

"Hmm, where'd he go?" implored his mother, sounding _very_ close to his bed. Stan nearly revealed his location with a laugh, but managed to stifle it just in time.

"I don't know, Carrots," his father responded, sounding like he was searching the room. "I know he was here just a second ago!"

"Could he have disappeared?" Judy asked with a tone of over-the-top thoughtfulness. "He _has_ been pretending to be a ninja a lot nowadays; he could have finally become a _pro_ ninja!"

Again, Stan had to stifle a bout of laughter. This act became harder as he heard his father come close. "I think he has," Nick agreed as he discreetly began reaching for the covers. "But lucky for us, _I_ was trained to find ninjas!"

Nick suddenly pulled back the sheets, revealing the giggling kit on the bed. Giggles turned to laughter as Stan was mercilessly tickled by both of his parents. "Stop, stop!" Stan begged between bouts of laughter, though his beaming smile betrayed him.

As the giggling kit calmed down, Nick and Judy couldn't help but stare at how wonderfully unique Stan was. His fur was gray like Judy's, but the tips of his ears and tail had the same, dark red colors as Nick's ears and tail. His muzzle was a touch too short for a fox, and his tail was twice as fluffy. Stan's emerald eyes shone with the bright energy of his youth as he smiled up at his parents.

"Who's gonna take care of me today?" Stan asked as he pulled the covers back over his pajama-clad body.

"Who said anything about taking care of you?" Nick asked, glancing to Judy for support. " _I_ didn't. Did you?"

Judy crossed her arms as she pretended to be deep in thought. "No, I don't think so. I remember saying that since it was someone's fifth birthday this week, Stan gets to learn how to take care of the house himself. That means doing all the _cleaning_ , all the _cooking_ , and all the _shopping_."

"No!" Stan burst into laughter, and he tried to hide under his covers. Nick and Judy chuckled before they coaxed Stan back out of hiding. "Who's _really_ going to take care of me?" the kit asked, trying to shoot a serious glare at his parents; he ended up looking cuter than ever, which almost made it impossible for the two parents to take Stan seriously.

"It will be just you and me today, Squirt," Nick said, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. "Momma's got an important case to solve, right Carrots?"

Judy discreetly rolled her eyes before turning to Stan. "Your father's right. I need to figure out who keeps putting all these reports on my desk and making me do them! Hey, maybe that will make a great news report, huh?"

Stan nodded vigorously. While the kit was fascinated with his parents' line of work, he enjoyed writing reports on them and putting on a pretend news show for his parents. As Stan got older, Nick and Judy realized that the young mammal really had a knack for this line of work.

A glance at the clock on the bedside table told Judy that it was time for her to leave. "Alright Stan, tell Momma goodbye," Nick said as Judy leaned over and kissed Stan's forehead.

"Bye Momma," Stan chirped as he hugged his mother goodbye.

"Bye Stan," Judy said as she returned the hug. "I'll see you at dinner, okay?" The bunny then turned towards her husband, who wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in for a kiss.

"I love you, Carrots," Nick murmured before releasing the bunny.

"I love you too, Nick," Judy replied. As she exited the room, she called over her shoulder, "You two be good! I don't wanna come home to a messy house, okay?"

"Okay!" Nick and Stan called back in unison. They heard the front door open and shut, and the two mammals were left in silence.

A gentle cough from Stan broke said silence, earning a chuckle from Nick. "Let's try to get that cold taken care of," he stated before lifting himself off of the bed. "You stay here; I'll be right back."

Nick returned moments later with some kit's cough medicine. "Alright, Squirt, after you take some of this, we'll go get some breakfast. Got it?"

"Got it!" Stan exclaimed, his tail excitedly wagging behind him. With steady paws, Nick filled a small spoon with the grape-flavored liquid and carefully maneuvered the utensil into Stan's open muzzle. Stan didn't really _hate_ the cough medicine, but he never liked the way it seemed to burn at his throat no matter what flavor it was.

"Good job, Squirt!" Nick congratulated as he affectionately ruffled the giggling kit's ears. "We'll give that a few minutes to start working, and then guess what?"

"What?" Stan asked, cocking his head to the side in curiosity.

"Because you have to stay in bed, you get to eat in bed, too!" Nick excitedly announced, a wide grin spreading across his muzzle.

"Really!?" Stan gasped as his tail once again began to wag excitedly.

Nick nodded. "Remember, you have to be careful to not get any crumbs on the bed, or Momma won't let you do this anymore, got it?"

"Mm-hmm!" Stan answered as he nodded his head.

"Good. Now, what do you want for breakfast, Squirt?" Nick asked.

The kit's brows furrowed as he thought hard about this decision. "Well, if I don't want crumbs, then I should eat something that isn't messy," Stan stated matter-of-factly.

The older fox chuckled. "Sounds like a smart choice," he said.

"How about cereal?" Stan asked as his gaze returned to his father. Nick couldn't help but smile as he saw not only himself but Judy in those emerald eyes.

"Perfect choice, Squirt," Nick congratulated. "What kind?"

"Lucky Chomps!" Stan exclaimed happily, throwing his paws in the air.

"I was _just_ thinking that," Nick declared with a snap of his fingers. "You really need to stop reading minds; it's spooky."

"Da-a-addy!" Stan's whine was broken up by laughter. "I can't read minds!"

"That's what you _want_ me to think," Nick quickly retorted as he ruffled the kit's ears. "That way, when I let my guard down, you'll be able to guess what your mom and I got you for your birthday!"

"Daddy, I wouldn't do that!" Stan tried to say as he was overcome by a fit of giggles when his father began to tickle him.

"I can't take any chances, Squirt," Nick said, though the kit couldn't hear him over his own laughter. After a moment, Nick stopped tickling and got off the bed. "Alright, I'm gonna go get your breakfast; I'll be right back."

Stan could only nod as he tried to catch his breath, a broad smile still plastered on his muzzle.

His father returned moments later, carrying a tray in his paws. Stan couldn't hold his excitement back as the tray was placed in front of him, holding a large bowl of Lucky Chomps cereal, a tall glass of milk, and a few slices of oranges.

At Stan's request, Nick poured a little of the milk into the bowl before leaning against the bedside table, his own bowl of cereal in his paws. "Dig in, Squirt!"

Stan didn't need to be told twice, though he did try to be polite like his parents were teaching him. He would take a bite, set his spoon down as he chewed, swallow, and then repeat the process. Occasionally, he paused to take a sip of milk or nibble on an orange slice.

Nick's amused smile kept growing as the fox watched his son practice his table manners. It was quite impressive, really, how fast the little kit had picked up on the subject. Nick couldn't help but be proud of the kind mammal his son was growing up to be; though, Stan still had _quite_ a lot of growing up to do.

When breakfast was finished, and everything was cleaned up, Stan decided that he wanted to hear some stories about Nick and Judy's job, to which Nick was all too happy to comply.

"Which one do you want to hear today, Squirt?" Nick asked.

Stan thought long and hard on this; there were too many great stories to pick from! "Ooh! I know!" the young kit blurted excitedly, his tail wagging behind him. "What about the time you pretended to be all scary and chase Momma to stop the mean sheep!"

Nick chuckled; that story seemed to be Stan's favorite. Not that Nick minded; he rather enjoyed that story as well. "Alrighty then, Squirt!" he chirped before positioning himself in the middle of the room, giving him enough space to move around as he was bound to begin acting out the story. "Your mom and I had just escaped a _huge_ train wreck, but I managed to save some important evidence for the case. We decided to run through the museum as a shortcut to get to the ZPD, but Bellwether was already there! At first, we thought she was there to help us, but boy were we wrong! Her goons started chasing us, so we ran away."

Stan avidly listened as he watched his father wildly gesture with his paws and exaggerate certain motions with his body as the story continued.

"This is when Momma hurt her leg, so she couldn't run anymore. I knew I couldn't leave her behind, so I went back to help her. Just as the bad guys were about to find us, we came up with a plan. I had some extra blueberries in my pocket, so we switched out the Night Howler with the blueberries! We tried running again, but then a big ram knocked us into one of the museum's displays. That was when Bellwether shot me with a blueberry, thinking it was going to make me go savage!"

The young kit snickered as his father dropped to the ground, standing on all four paws and pretending to stalk imaginary prey as he continued the story.

"I chased your mom around, growling and pretending to be scary. Momma was good at pretending, too; I almost thought that she was _really_ afraid of me! Just as I backed Momma into a corner, Bellwether began telling us her entire plan, so it's a good thing that Momma was secretly recording it."

"With her special pen, right?" Stan blurted, drawing a chuckle from the older fox.

"That's right, Squirt. Anyways, I suddenly pretended to eat Momma, knowing that we now had what we needed to put Bellwether behind bars!" Nick picked himself up from the ground before he continued.

"What about the part where Momma goes, 'Blood! Blood! Death!'?" Stan asked, using as much bravado as Judy and fainting at 'Death!'

Nick wished he had his phone; Judy would have _loved_ that! "She did that after I pretended to eat her. Bellwether was so surprised when she found out that we had this all planned. The police arrived, and the day was saved!"

"Yay!" Stan cheered as he excitedly applauded the performance.

"Thank you, thank you!" Nick boasted, bowing to an imaginary audience. He then made his way back to the kit's bed and took a seat.

"I love that story," Stan chirped, feeling very content at hearing it again.

"I know you do, Squirt," Nick said as he placed a kiss on the kit's forehead. "Now come on, we've got a ton of fun things to do today!"

* * *

From the shelf, Nick pulled out the Jr. ZPD Matching Game; one of Stan's favorites. Opening the box, the older fox began to lay out all twelve pieces face-down on the bed; there were three rows and four columns. Once he was finished, Nick placed the box out of the way.

"Alright, Squirt, the first one to find Momma and Daddy in this is the winner, okay?" Nick challenged. Stan nodded in affirmation. "Good. You can go first."

Stan stared at the twelve cards on his bed. Each person he had to find had two cards that matched, which made the first move the hardest.

An amused smile crept over Nick's face as he watched his son put a lot of thought into this game. While it was an enjoyable pastime, Nick _still_ couldn't get over the fact that he and his wife were well-known enough in the ZPD that they'd be in a game about the police force; he still remembered how awkward he felt posing for the pictures.

The young kit finally decided on a piece, going for the one in the top left corner. Upon flipping it over, the card revealed Chief Bogo beaming at the camera. Nick couldn't contain his snicker as he remembered Bogo posing for that picture; the buffalo hadn't been in the _best_ of moods that day, yet Nick had been determined to take advantage of it.

Stan took another few moments to pick another card, trying to guess where the other Chief Bogo was. Finally, the kit decided on a piece in the middle row; it was Clawhauser eating a box of donuts.

"Ah, better luck next time, Squirt," Nick stated as the two cards were flipped over. The older fox glanced over the pieces before turning back to his son. "So, are you excited that you're going to kindergarten soon?" he asked as he turned over a card on the bottom row; it was Clawhauser.

Stan had been about to answer before he noticed what his father had found. The kit's eyes widened in realization, but he kept quiet in case his father remembered where the other Clawhauser was. Nick did, in fact, remember where the other Clawhauser was, but he always let Stan get the first pair.

With a sly grin on his face, Nick purposefully turned over the top left piece, glancing down at Bogo's beaming face. "Oh, looks like I got the wrong one!" Nick exclaimed in mock disappointment; Stan's tail wagged behind him as he tried to keep his excitement to a minimum.

Once the two pieces were flipped over again, Stan's paws raced to the two Clawhausers and flipped the cards face-up. "I found them!" Stan chirped as he placed the two pieces in a pile next to him.

Nick snapped his fingers, though the broad smile on his face betrayed him. "Darn! You're getting really good at this game, Squirt!" he groaned as he began his next turn.

"Now, what did you say before, Daddy?" Stan asked, giving his father his attention.

Nick gave in inquisitive hum as he looked up from the card he had flipped over; it was another Bogo. "Oh, I was just wondering if you were excited to be starting kindergarten soon."

Stan nodded vigorously. "Mm-hmm! I'm gonna make _lots_ of new friends! I'll also try to be as smart as you and Momma."

The older fox cracked a smile as he gently tussled the kit's ears. "I don't know; with how good you are at this game, you may already be smarter than me!" Nick then turned over the other Bogo. "Oh look! I got a pair!"

"Yay, Daddy!" Stan cheered as his father set the two cards off to the side. This time, Stan turned over two random cards in quick succession; maybe if he was fast enough, his father wouldn't remember which pieces he picked. One Officer Trunkaby and one Officer Higgins were revealed; still no Nick or Judy.

"Nice try, Squirt," Nick stated as the pieces were turned back over, "but it's my turn again."

Stan noticed that his father used the same strategy, quickly turning over two cards. The other Officer Higgins and one Officer Wilde was revealed. "Oh, lookie what I found!" Nick said, holding up the card with his picture on it.

"Who is that fox?" Stan asked, remembering all the jokes that his parents would play on him.

"It's _me_ , Squirt!" Nick exclaimed, pointing a finger at his face and the card.

The young kit leaned forward, squinting his eyes until they were all but shut. "I don't know," he muttered, placing a paw on his chin like he had seen his parents do before. His ears suddenly perked as his eyes widened. "Oh wait, _now_ I see! It's you, Daddy!"

Nick rolled his eyes as he set the card back down on the bed, but his broad grin betrayed him. "It's your turn, you little goofball."

Stan snickered before turning to the pieces. He knew where both cards with Officer Higgins were, but if he picked those up, it would be easier for his dad to find the other Officer Wilde. However, Stan knew that if he tried to guess where his father's other picture was and missed, then it would be his dad's turn. It was a tough decision, but Stan knew what he wanted to do.

With hesitant paws, the young kit turned over the first Officer Wilde card. Lucky for Stan, he knew where one of the Officer Trunkaby cards and both Officer Higgins cards were, leaving him with four cards to choose from. Stan's eyes flicked from card to card as the kit debated on which one was the right one.

Stan picked his card but closed his eyes as he anxiously turned it over. The room fell silent for a little bit as the kit slowly opened his eyes and turned towards the card. His jaw dropped when he saw that he had picked the other Officer Wilde card.

"Look, Daddy!" the kit exclaimed, barely containing his excitement. "Look what I got!"

"Would you look at that," Nick muttered, scratching his chin in thought. "You found the other me! Are you sure that you're not cheating?"

Stan laughed as he placed the two cards in his pile. "No, Daddy. I'm not cheating!"

"Hmm," Nick hummed as he turned towards the remaining six pieces, though he continued to occasionally glance at his son with pretend suspicion in his eyes.

The next two cards were both Officer Higgins, giving Nick another pair. "Alright, Squirt, it's your turn. Do you think you can find Momma before I do?"

Stan gave his father a determined nod before studying the remaining four cards. He knew that two of those had his mother's picture, and the other two had Officer Trunkaby's picture on there. Lucky for the kit, he knew where one of the Trunkaby pictures were, so that narrowed down his choices to three cards. With one of those cards not being his mother, Stan still didn't like his chances.

Again, Nick watched his son with avid amusement as the young kit tried to make a decision. Stan was so determined to go about this the smartest way. While Judy was very adamant about following the rules, she could be headstrong and impatient at times. Nick, on the other hand, had the mind of a fox – sly, smart, cunning, and quite fast at last-minute decisions; all of those traits came in handy out in the field.

Nick was drawn from his musings when Stan finally flipped over a card; it was Officer Hopps. The kit's eyes widened in excitement, but his ears twitched in nervousness as the non-existent pressure weighed down on Stan.

"Good job, Squirt," Nick congratulated. Stan only nodded in response as most of his attention was focused on the last two unknown cards.

Stan picked the card to the right, and to his dismay, it was Officer Trunkaby. Now, all of the pairs had been found; it was just a matter of who got what first.

"Ooh, almost," Nick said as he began his turn. He went straight for the two Trunkaby cards. "Oh no!" he cried in mock defeat. "These weren't what I wanted!" The older fox dramatically fell back onto the bed, much to Stan's amusement.

"I guess that means I win, Daddy," Stan chirped as he retrieved the final pair: two cards with a picture of Officer Hopps painted on each. "You did really good, though!"

Nick's eye peeked out from under the paw that had been placed on his face for effect. "Thanks, Squirt," he muttered before a sly grin began to spread over his muzzle. "You know what you won?"

Stan shook his head in the negative. "You won a special lunch!" Nick exclaimed as he suddenly sat up and wrapped the kit in his arms, hugging him close.

* * *

Lunch was peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with cooked carrots and chocolate milk – one of Stan's favorites. As with the breakfast, Stan was incredibly careful to not get crumbs all over his bed.

The first few moments of lunch were passed in silence as father and son enjoyed their meal. After a bit, however, Nick broke the silence. "So, your mother and I have decided that because you're turning five, you get to decide where you want your birthday party to be."

"Really?" Stan asked behind a mouthful of sandwich. He quickly paused, finished the bite, and made sure his mouth was empty before continuing, "I get to pick?"

Nick nodded. "Yep, though to make it easy, we have some choices for you. You can either have your birthday party here at the house; in our office at the ZPD Headquarters; or back at Grandma and Granddad's in Bunnyburrow."

"What about Grandma Rachel and Grandpa Victor?" Stan inquired, sounding somewhat sad.

"We can't have it at their place because they're on vacation," Nick answered before tussling the kit's ears. "But don't worry; when they get back, we're all going to go visit the amusement park together. Won't that be fun?"

"Mm-hmm!" Stan excitedly agreed, bouncing underneath the blankets.

Nick chuckled. "I thought so. But first, you have to tell me where you want your birthday party to be."

Stan began to think about the question. The two choices he was torn between were the ZPD and Bunnyburrow. The young kit _loved_ going to Nick and Judy's office; there were so many awesome animals to meet! He loved talking with Clawhauser, all of his parents' friends were really nice, and Bogo was just so cool! However, Bunnyburrow was just as loved by Stan. Granddad Stu would tell funny stories about his life on the farm, and the kit _loved_ Grandma Bonnie's cooking. Plus, all of Judy's family were so much fun to play with! This was probably the toughest decision the four-year-old ever had to make.

"If you can't decide right now, don't worry," Nick admitted after watching Stan try to choose. "You have a few days before your birthday; however, you do need to answer soon than later, okay, Squirt?"

The young kit nodded before taking a bite of his sandwich; he was rather glad that he didn't need to make a choice yet. After a few more moments, the two mammals finished their lunch.

Nick chuckled as Stan let out a tired yawn. "You tired, Squirt?" he inquired with a smile.

Stan sleepily rubbed his eyes. "Mm-hmm," he murmured.

"Alrighty, Squirt. I'll clean up, and then we'll _both_ take a nap. How does that sound?" Nick asked as he gathered what was left of their lunch. The fox quickly went about cleaning up after receiving an affirmative nod from Stan.

* * *

The young kit dreamed of his parents, going around and saving the day; all the while, Stan was sharing their story via news reports with everyone around the world. Nick dreamed of his bunny, and if asked, that would be all he had to say on the matter as he turned away, the insides of his ears growing a faint shade of pink.

When the two mammals woke up, it was almost time for Judy to come home.

"Alright, Squirt, how do you feel?" Nick asked as he sat down on Stan's bed.

"I don't feel sick anymore!" Stan exclaimed happily.

Nick quirked an eyebrow as a grin crept over his muzzle. "Oh is that so?" he asked. "Well, there's only one way to really tell: you're not sick if you _don't_ laugh!" Suddenly, Nick lunged forward and tickled the kit, who couldn't hold back his laughter.

"Daddy! Daddy, stop!" Stan giggled as he squirmed on the bed.

"I think you're still sick, Squirt," Nick said after the kit calmed down.

"But I'm not, Daddy!" Stan cried, trying to be serious before some laughter betrayed him.

"I think you are," Nick challenged. "You see, you have something called Laugh-itis, and it's a _terrible_ disease that kits get whenever they can't stop laughing."

Stan tried to hold his breath to stop the snickers, but to no avail. "See? I told you," Nick stated after his son continued to snicker. "I'm afraid the only cure is blueberries," Stan's ears perked at the mention of the tasty treats. "I think we have some in the fridge. I'll be right back, Squirt. Try not to laugh too hard while I'm gone, okay?"

The young kit nodded as Nick left for the kitchen. The laughter had begun to die down as Nick returned with a small container of blueberries. The older fox chuckled as Stan's tail began to wag excitedly.

"Now remember," Nick said as he sat down on the bed, "Momma's gonna be home _any_ minute, and that means that dinner will be made soon. So we're not going to eat too many of these, okay? Just enough to get rid of the Laugh-itis."

After receiving a nod from Stan, Nick divvied up the blueberries among themselves. Stan loved blueberries as much as his father – the tart taste, the funny way that the juices made his muzzle turn blue; everything about the little berry was wonderful!

Nick had just finished his first pawful of berries when his phone made a noise. Stan watched as his father pulled out the device from his pocket and looked at the screen. His father's smile widened and his eyes filled with a special look that Stan had seen very few times before: it was the look that Daddy got when he had a silly idea that could possibly get the older fox in trouble with Momma.

"Momma's on her way home, Squirt," Nick said as he placed his phone back in his pocket. "Let's get you cleaned up before she gets home. Then, I have a funny trick we can play on her."

* * *

The front door opened, revealing a clean apartment. Judy sighed in relief despite the fact that she had full trust in her husband and son's ability to keep the house tidy. The bunny announced her presence with a loud "I'm home!" as she began unloading some of her gear on the small table to the right.

Judy's ears perked at the sound of little paws padding across the floor almost immediately after her announcement. "Momma!" a little voice exclaimed as Judy knelt down to embrace her kit.

"Stan!" she replied, planting kisses in the mammal's fur. Judy then leaned back to get a good look at the bright, emerald eyes that were unique to her two favorite mammals. "Oh look at you! You're all better now, aren'tcha?"

"Mm-hmm!" Stan nodded enthusiastically. "Daddy took _great_ care of me!"

Judy chuckled. "I bet he did," she said as she stood up and scanned the room. "Where is he?" she asked upon not seeing any sign of the fox anywhere.

"Oh, he's in the bedroom," Stan said, desperately trying to hide the grin that persisted on staying put. "I don't think he's feeling well."

The bunny cocked her head in confusion. "He's not feeling well?" she echoed before swiveling her head in the direction of her bedroom. "Let's go see if he's alright then."

"Daddy told me not to go in there, just in case I get sick again," Stan stated, surprised that he'd "survived" for as long as he had. He wished his mother would hurry and see the trick, though; he couldn't keep from laughing much longer.

Judy noticed the light in Stan's eyes, a light that she had grown too well accustomed with to ignore. A sly grin grew over the bunny's muzzle. "Oh I see," she purred, turning back towards the door. "Well, if Daddy says so, then he must be _really_ sick; I don't think _I_ should go in there!" Judy purposefully raised her voice so that Nick could hear her from behind the door; it worked.

"Oh, Carrots! Is that you!?" he called from the bedroom, sounding dramatically tired. "Please, come closer! I need to see my beautiful wife – urk! – before this cold gets me!"

The bunny shook her head in pity and rolled her eyes before turning back to Stan, who was giggling madly. "Alright, Stan. You're gonna tell me what Nick has planned, or neither of you get to eat any more blueberries for a week!" Again, Judy said this loud enough so that Nick could hear her from behind the door.

"Stay strong, Squirt!" Nick called from the bedroom. "Sacrifices must be made!"

Stan couldn't help from laughing as he glanced from the bedroom door to his mother. Gesturing with a paw, the young kit beckoned his mother to lean over so that he could whisper in her ear. "He's just _pretending_ to be sick so that you would give him _lots_ of hugs and kisses," he said, trying to sound very serious.

"Oh he is, is he?" Judy said, a mischievous grin creeping across her muzzle as she turned back towards the door.

"Please don't tell him!" Stan whispered urgently, tugging at the bunny's leg. "I don't want to hurt his feelings."

Judy chuckled softly as she wrapped her arms around the young kit. "Don't worry, Stan, his feelings won't be hurt. In fact, because you told me, I'm gonna give him _extra_ hugs and kisses!"

Stan laughed as Judy rustled the fur between his ears. "You wait here; Nick and I won't be long, and then I'll get dinner started. And since you were so good today, I think you've earned a special dinner: grilled salmon!"

The young kit figuratively jumped into the ceiling, he was so excited! "Thank you, thank you, thank you, Momma!" he exclaimed, hugging the bunny tighter.

"You're welcome, Stan," Judy chirped as she placed a kiss on the kit's forehead. "Now, time to go make sure your father is well enough to eat," she stood up and made her way to the bedroom door. Before she entered the room, Judy turned back to the young kit. "Do you think he will magically feel better if I tell him what's for dinner?"

Stan thought for a moment before smiling and nodding. "Uh-huh," he replied.

Judy smiled. "I thought so too," she added before disappearing behind the door.

* * *

Dinner was delicious. Nick and Stan dug into their cooked fish; while Nick ate his with a hint of predatory ferocity, Stan took a more polite approach, using his plastic fork to cut out pieces of the food. Judy had made herself a carrot salad and ate with an amused smile on her face as she noticed her son's manners.

"You know, Nick," Judy said, glancing at the fox. "You could learn a thing or two about manners from your son."

The fox paused as the remark processed in his brain, and then he turned towards the younger kit who was determinedly cutting his fish with his plastic fork. A grin spread across Nick's muzzle. "Well, would you look at that?" he said, catching the kit's attention; Stan glanced between his parents, wondering if he had done anything wrong or if he had a piece of fish on his face. "Our son's a gentlemammal!"

A bashful Stan dipped his head, hiding a smile. Nick chuckled as he returned to his meal, following his son's example and eating a little more neatly. "So, Squirt, you wanna tell Momma what we did today?"

"Mm-hmm!" Stan hummed before swallowing his food. He turned to his mother. "Daddy told me about the time you guys tricked Bellwever again – "

"It's Bellwe _th_ er, Stan," Judy softly corrected.

Stan nodded and tried again. "Daddy told me about the time you guys tricked Bell-we-th-er again, and then we played games and napped!"

"Oh really?" Judy asked, sounding impressed. "Sounds like a really fun day!"

"For sure, Carrots," Nick agreed as he finished off his salmon. "In fact, I think the only way to end this is with a family movie night!"

Stan bounced in his seat, his tail excitedly wagging behind him. He looked to his mother with pleading eyes. "Please, Momma? Please?"

"Of course!" Judy said, her own smiling growing on her muzzle. "But only if you go get ready for bed first."

It was as if Stan was never at the table, he was so fast! Nick and Judy blinked as the young kit had suddenly bolted for his room, his small footsteps growing quieter as he left.

"I think he liked that idea, Nick," Judy said, turning to her husband.

Nick nodded as he retrieved the dirty dishes and made his way to the kitchen. "Well, he is _our_ son, and you and I both know that we like our movie nights!"

"That's not something that would be passed on genetically, Nick," Judy stated, rolling her eyes.

"Who knows," Nick said, poking his head out from the kitchen, "interspecies breeding could pass on more than we think!"

"Oh, so you're an expert on the subject, now?" Judy asked, turning towards the fox.

"Absolutely, Carrots," Nick nodded before retreating back into the kitchen. "I'm so glad that you finally see it my way."

Again, Judy rolled her eyes before she stood up from the table and went to get the movie ready.

* * *

Stan comfortably sat between his parents with a smile on his face as Robin Hood came to an end. The young kit loved the movie because Robin Hood was the coolest fox ever, aside from his dad. Nick and Judy appreciated the movie because it was one of the few that didn't try to purposefully paint any particular mammal in a bad light, hence the main role being a fox.

As the end credits rolled, Stan let out a long yawn.

"Sounds like someone's ready for bed," Judy said as she hugged the kit. Stan sleepily nodded in response. "Alright, let's go."

Moments later, Stan was being tucked in as his parents told him goodnight.

"You get some rest, Squirt," Nick said after placing a kiss on the kit's forehead. "We don't want you getting sick again, _especially_ so close to your birthday."

"Okay, Daddy," Stan yawned, his eyelids growing heavy.

"We'll see you in the morning, okay?" Judy said before lovingly stroking the kit's fur. "I love you, Stan."

"I love you too, Momma," Stan said before falling to sleep. His dreams were filled with the memories of the best sick-day ever.


	2. MuzzleTime

**So, this one** _ **may**_ **be a bit canon to my other stories. Taking place before the events of The Strongest Bonds, this one-shot is my idea of what life was like for Nick and Judy while Nick was at the Academy. Just a short, fun, fluffy conversation. And no, they are not even** _ **close**_ **to dating yet. They are just friends at this point in time.**

 **Also, a huge thanks to Birchly for letting me use their art for the cover! Go check out more on their DeviantArt and/or Tumblr!**

MuzzleTime

Nick plopped down onto the mattress with a groan, every single one of his muscles aching in protest. His eyelids were heavy, threatening to close for a few hours and sending the fox into an early sleep, but he refused. At least, for right now. He had other plans.

Despite the fact that his plans didn't call for odor-based hygiene, Nick still felt the need to shower as quickly as possible to get the stench of sweat off of him. As with all the other Academy showers, there wasn't a drop of hot water to be found, but at this time, he didn't mind. The cold water was rather soothing to the fox as it ran through his fur and washed the mud, sand, leaves, and sweat from his coppery pelt.

After drying off with the wonderful invention that was the fur dryer, Nick slipped on an Academy tank-top and a pair of loose gym shorts. Happy that his fur wasn't too disheveled and he now smelled clean, the fox climbed onto his bunk and retrieved his phone from the small table that sat beside him.

Just as he unlocked the screen, the notification for a MuzzleTime call appeared on the screen. The contact? Only his best friend and hopefully soon-to-be partner of the ZPD: the wonderful little bunny known as Judy Hopps. Nick couldn't help the smile that spread across his features as he accepted the call.

"Hey, Carrots!" he greeted. All the tension from the day's rigorous training quickly melted away, leaving him with the happy content that he felt when thinking about and/or talking to Judy.

"Hey, Slick!" she replied from the screen, her amethyst eyes sparkling in the lamplight of her tiny apartment. "How are things going?"

Nick shrugged, yet the smile never left his face. "Fine. The instructor is a real _blast!_ " he sarcastically joked.

Judy snickered. "You know it's because she loves you," she retorted, donning some of the sharp wit that she had acclimated from her relationship with the fox. "Besides, you'll find that with all of this training, you'll be as tough as me!"

Nick chuckled. "I don't know if the world is ready for an Academy-hardened fox, Carrots," he stated. "It barely handled the _bunny_."

Said bunny stuck her little, pink tongue out at the fox before the corners of her mouth turned up in a smile. "Is that supposed to be a compliment? If so, it was terrible," Judy joked.

"You win some, you lose some," Nick replied with a nonchalant air about him. "Anyway, enough about _me_ ; how are things going for you?"

Judy gave a small sigh that bordered on being tired and nostalgically pleased. "While it's hard waiting for my best friend to get through Academy training, it's been going alright. I'm on desk duty most of the time, but Parking Duty is officially a thing of the past!" she exclaimed gleefully.

"Aw, but orange suits you, Carrots," Nick whined, though the glint in his emerald eyes betrayed him. "You actually looked like a carrot!"

He smiled as Judy rolled her eyes. "You're pitiful, you know that?" she asked with a bored expression on her face.

"You know you love me," Nick winked, his sly grin widening to the point where his teeth were just visible.

Judy studied that smile. At a different point in time, she would have been lying if she said she wasn't bothered by it, but now, it sent a wave of warmth through her body. That was a smile that Nick seemed to reserve only for her, showing that he was genuinely happy to be around her – to be her best friend.

"I don't know, Slick," she pondered, bringing a paw up to her chin in thought. "It's been about four months since I last saw you in person. My love has probably worn off by then."

"You and I have very different definitions of 'love,' Carrots," Nick stated with dry sarcasm. "Is that a bunny thing, or. . . ?" he trailed off before his muzzle broke out into a broad grin.

Judy scoffed. "You and your constant profiling!" she scolded. "You're lucky that I'm not around, or else I'd be getting you extra training sessions!"

"Is that the best you can do, Carrots?" Nick playfully challenged.

"Well, I'm kinda limited as to what I can and can't use to threaten you with us being so far apart," Judy stated with a hint of sadness in her voice that did not go unnoticed by Nick.

"Don't worry, Carrots, I miss you too. I'll be sure to graduate with high enough marks to get assigned as your partner. Heck, I might even be able to beat all your records!" Nick joked, hoping that he had cheered up the bunny.

A flicker of relief passed over his emerald eyes as Judy's muzzle split into a wide grin. "I'd like to see you try, fox!" she retorted with a jokingly challenging tone. "I'll have you know that I made sure that my records were high enough to keep just about _everyone_ from breaking them."

"You obviously weren't thinking about foxes then," Nick contended, his own smile widening. "I'll have you know that we were made to break records."

Judy giggled, seemingly remembering something funny. "What?" Nick asked, curious as to why Judy was laughing and somewhat eager to join in. "What's so funny?"

"I'm sorry," Judy apologized between snickers. "It's just that my Pop Pop used to say that foxes were red because they were made by the devil." She broke into another fit of laughter.

Nick's smile faltered. He knew that Judy's family wasn't the best in regards on how they treated predators. Despite everything that Judy had said before to convince him that they were changing, he couldn't help but feel skeptical – a remnant of his cynical side from when he first met Judy. However, seeing the bunny laugh took the edge off the fox's unease; it was a funny accusation, after all.

Judy finally calmed down after a few moments. "Sorry about that," she muttered between giggly breaths. "But it's still as funny as when I was a kid. You know what's weird, though?" She suddenly asked.

Nick shrugged. "The fact that I'm stuck here for another two months or so before I can patronize you in person?" he replied, giving the bunny a snarky grin.

Again, Judy groaned and rolled her eyes, yet the smile never left her face. She swore to deny it for the rest of her days, but she enjoyed Nick's sense of humor – sometimes. "No. When I was a kid, I always thought that my Pop Pop was being silly whenever he said that. You know, like a funny joke that he would tell his friends. It was only until after the incident with Gideon Grey that I realized that he was being serious." Her voiced trailed off as her ears folded behind her head, her gaze lowering.

"Hey, don't be like that, Carrots," Nick said soothingly, wishing he could hug the bunny. "I didn't agree to this call just to see your adorable crying."

Judy lifted her head to send the fox a glare, though upon seeing the grin on his face, she couldn't help but crack a smile. "Well that's too bad. Being an emotional bunny means that I'm bound to cry every now and then," she joked as she pretended to wipe a tear from her cheek.

"I know that. I just don't want you to do it," Nick stated, somewhat relieved that he was able to get Judy to quickly cheer up. "These calls are supposed to get me through the training, in case you forgot."

"Didn't forget," Judy replied before lowering her voice an octave to impersonate the strict chief of Precinct One. "Just don't care."

"Oh, so you've been working on your voice-acting skills, have you?" Nick asked, feigning his being impressed.

Judy's "Mm-hmm!" complemented her affirmative nod. "How else am I supposed to impress my new partner-to-be?"

Nick's eyebrows shot up. "Doth my ears deceive me? I could have sworn that _you_ just said that you're trying to impress _me!_ That just can't be right, Carrots. If anything, _I'm_ the one who needs to prove himself."

"No, I'm aware that you're gonna have quite a bit of trouble growing out of the 'Rookie' status, Slick," Judy teased. "I just want to show off all the neat tricks that I can do."

"Oh, so you're a showoff?" Nick dryly stated, but he couldn't keep a straight face for long as Judy wholeheartedly agreed with Nick's accusation.

"Absolutely. One hundred percent!" she replied, and she seemed rather proud of it. That is, until she burst into a fit of laughter. Nick's chuckling soon joined in the merriment.

It took a moment, but the bunny finally caught enough breath to calm down. "Man, I wish you would get here sooner! Just think of all the good we can do in the city."

"I'm thinking of all the pranks I can pull," Nick said, his grin slowly growing as he awaited Judy's reaction to his statement.

"Nick, you know that's a surefire way for me to lose my partner," Judy whined, though the gleam in her eye betrayed her light amusement.

"Don't worry, Carrots. I'm a fox, remember? Nobody will suspect a thing."

Judy immediately snickered at the purposefully dumb thought. "Sure they won't, Slick."

"Besides, I'll have _you_ to cover my back; I'll need a reliable alibi, won't I?" Nick joked.

"Not on your life," Judy quipped. "I'm an officer of the law, and I will not be cajoled into your insufferable rule-breaking!"

Nick's eyes widened in surprise. "Someone's been hitting the dictionary pretty hard."

"Nah, I've just been reading Prey and Prejudice in my spare time," Judy answered, holding up the book for Nick to see. "I'm almost finished."

"Isn't that the one where the fox and bunny get together after having a lot of fights?" Nick inquired. He had heard of the book before, and he knew his mother was enamored with the author.

Judy studied the bland cover of the book. "I'm still not sure. He is _very_ interested in her, but she's playing hard to get. However, it's very likely that they'll get together in the end. I just hope Elizabeth doesn't lose her snarkiness if she marries Mr. Clawcy. It would ruin her character!"

"I know my mother used to read those a lot when I was young," Nick thoughtfully commented. "If I remember correctly, she should –"

"No!" Judy interrupted as she set the book aside. "No spoilers! I'll figure it out on my own, thank you very much!"

The trademark grin crept over Nick's muzzle. "Whatever you say, Carrots. Just don't come crying to me whenever Lizzie ends up being _exactly_ like her mother after living with Mr. Clawcy."

" _Nick!_ " Judy cried, pulling her ears over her head to shut out the unwanted information. "I said no spoilers!"

A burst of laughter escaped Nick's chest. It was so powerful that Nick soon found himself curled into a shaking ball as he tried to catch his breath. By the time he was finished and had wiped the laugh-induced tears from his eyes, the fox was met with the sight of his soon-to-be partner glaring daggers at him.

"That wasn't funny, Nick," Judy stated. Her glare didn't falter one bit.

"I'm sorry, Carrots. I couldn't resist. But I promise that what I said was false," Nick assured. For emphasis, he held up one hand in a familiar salute. "Scout's Honor."

Judy sighed with both exasperation and relief; Nick's antics could get tiring, but because he had such dark memories attached to being a Junior Ranger Scout, she could trust that his "honor" was reliable.

On Judy's end, all she heard was a muffled noise off to the right of the screen. Nick quickly glanced in that direction before turning back to Judy. "Alright, I gotta go, Carrots. Dinner time."

This time, Judy gave a sad sigh. Neither wanted the call to end, but "all good things" and whatnot. "Okay. Same time tomorrow?" Her ears perked with the hope of a positive answer.

Nick smiled. "I'll be here, Carrots," he answered with a wink. With that, the call was ended.

 **I'M TAKING REQUESTS!**

 **While I will be using this to get over Writer's Block, it does help if I have an idea to write. So, I'm gonna start taking** _ **your**_ **requests for this collection!** _ **You must follow these rules if you want your request to be considered!**_

 **One:** **You** _ **must**_ **PM** **me your request; don't leave it in a review** **unless you don't have an account.** **If you don't have an account, leave it in a** _ **guest**_ **review.**

 **Two:** **I'll be open to most ideas, as long as they are happy. That means the obvious, "no character deaths, no insane amounts of drama, and nothing sad that can't end with some cuddly comfort."**

 **Three:** **This collection is rated T, and I do not plan on changing that. So, I will not be taking requests that would cause me to up the rating of this collection to M. However, if you have read The Strongest Bonds or Family Ties (both rated T), you can see to what extent I will be willing to take the romance between Nick and Judy.**

 **Four:** **Almost all pairings are allowed, but there will be some that I simply won't do. For the list of allowed pairings, PM me, or take a shot in the dark.**

 **Five:** **OC's are definitely allowed! If you have an OC that you want to see here, give me a name, species, some descriptive details, the like. If they have a love interest that isn't Nick or Judy (because that kind of pairing is odd to me), then let me know about them, too! If I have created an OC in a previous story that you want to see here, I'd be happy to write those, too!**

 **That's about it. Like I said in the previous chapter, I won't be updating this regularly, so you may have to wait for your request to be taken in and worked on. But I won't completely ignore this collection either, so don't worry – more fluff to come!**


	3. After A Hard Day's Work

**First things first: this chapter contains insane amounts of fluff that really push the T rating of this story. Have no fear, though; this won't be any worse than Chapter 3 of Family Ties. It'll be on par, though, so have your insulin shots ready. Second, just so we're clear, Nick and Judy are married in this one shot. Got it? Okay, good. Enjoy!**

 **Also, a huge thanks to Birchly for letting me use their art for the cover! Go check out more on their DeviantArt and/or Tumblr!**

After a Hard Day's Work

Requested by DrummerMax64

In all her life, Judy had never been happier to clock out of work. She loved her job, yes, but there were days where the workload had been almost too much. First, she and Nick had an all-night stakeout in the uncomfortably humid Rainforest District. Second, they had to chase down their perp whenever they caught sight of him, and him being a _very_ in-shape cheetah was not helpful.

Thirdly, after they caught up with him, they had to detain him, leaving them very bruised and sore after a tussle. Fourthly, they had to fill out paperwork. Lots and lots of paperwork. It was at this moment that Judy regretted being rather careless with her driving as she had done minimal damage to a street block during her chase with the lean, spotted cat.

Finally, she and Nick were given the rest of the day off, but by the time they got home, the sun was already on its ways back to the horizon line. The only downside to that? They had work the very next day.

Not even bothering to discard her wrinkled police uniform, Judy plopped onto the couch face first, sighing in relief as the cushions slowly enveloped her in a warm, soft embrace. She still caught the chuckle from Nick, though.

"Carrots, you need to stop being so adorable; this old heart of mine can't take it," the fox joked.

"Whatever, Nick!" Judy called back, her voice muffled as her face was currently buried in the couch. "You're not _that_ old! Heck, just this morning I only saw, what, a _few_ patches of gray fur?"

"Har har, you're hysterical," Nick retorted dryly as he made his way to the bunny. Instead of sitting down, however, he began to carefully remove her uniform. "But seriously, though, it's gotten really hard to control myself at work these past few days, Carrots, and your constant acts of cuteness are not helping."

Judy tilted her face so that one eye could catch a glimpse of him. "Look, I know I'm drop-dead gorgeous, but with over two years of being partners together, I would think you've been controlling yourself just fine," she joked.

"You forget, Carrots, that it's winter," Nick replied as he slowly peeled off Judy's shirt. With the silver skin of her back laid bare for him, he began to gently massage the bunny, kneading his knuckles in between her shoulder blades and down her spine. The effect was almost immediate as Judy tensed for a split second and then relaxed. A long sigh escaped her throat as her eyelids fluttered.

"Right, but still," Judy contended. She had learned a lot about foxes from Nick, but whenever it came to his love for her, she couldn't help but feel flabbergasted. Perhaps it was her inexperience in the dating realm that was speaking here, but she had rarely – if at all – felt as loved as Nick made her feel. It was somewhat overwhelming, to say the least, but not unpleasant at all.

"But still, you are quite an attractive bunny, Carrots," Nick finished for her, a low growl in his throat. "That's all there is to it." To emphasize his point, he gently kissed the base of her neck as he continued to work the tension out of her system.

Judy could feel the blush rising through her body, and, mixed with the relaxing massage, she could've sworn she was floating on clouds. The heat only increased in temperature as Nick's paws slowly made their way down her back. He paused to remove her utility belt and then continued to ease the tension in her muscles. His paws ran over her clothed legs, sending a pleasant, tingling sensation down her spine. Whenever he got to her feet, however, she just about passed out – it felt amazing! Nick seemed to know all of her weak spots, for by the time he was finished, Judy felt as though she couldn't move, nor did she want to.

Nick sat beside the couch, holding Judy's paw. His thumb gently brushed her fur as he gazed at her peaceful face. Judy opened her eyes just a crack to see those love-filled emerald eyes, and another blush overtook her body. She was sure that she would never get over how Nick looked at her.

As she stared, though, it became painfully obvious that Nick was still beaten and tired. Judy tried to think of a way to return the favor as she lifted herself from the cushions. As she opened her mouth, however, the perfect idea came to mind. Her gaze turned sultry as she turned to Nick. "That was the best massage ever, Nick," she purred before leaning forward, her muzzle inches away from Nick's, "but now we have to deal with you. And with the smell of things, I think you could use a bath."

She then slid off the couch, picked up her discarded clothes items, and began making her way to the bedroom. A glance over her shoulder told her that Nick looked rather surprised and wanting. "Don't you mean a shower?" he asked.

"Nope! You need a bath, Nick," Judy shot back. "I want to be comfortable when I groom your fur."

Nick's ears perked up, though he didn't move from the spot for a few moments as to allow his brain to process exactly what Judy was implying. Once his brain stopped overheating, he quickly dashed into the bedroom, where he found Judy's clothes laid neatly on the bed. The sound of rushing water came from the bathroom, and a smile crept over Nick's muzzle. Discarding his own clothes, he quietly snuck into the tiled room and locked onto his target.

The lush, silver fur of his mate seemed to glow in the artificial light, but that could also just be his heightened ardor speaking. The bath slowly began to fill up, and the water's sound masked his approach. The grin on his muzzle widened as he silently crept up behind Judy, his paws outstretched and ready to strike.

And strike he did as he suddenly scooped Judy up off the floor before showering her face with hundreds of kisses. Her laughter was music to the fox's ears, and her body was warm against his. Holding her like this was one of his favorite aspects of their relationship, and Nick was determined to enjoy every second of it.

"Nick! That tickles! Stop!" Judy vainly pleaded. "The tub!" Any more pleas were lost to laughter.

Nick began to playfully nip at the tips of her ears and her neck, sending tingling sensations all over her body. Judy all but forgot about the tub and was only focused on the fox that held her. His coppery fur meshed with hers in such a way that heat easily traveled between them. His long muzzle allowed him to sneak past her "defenses" and steal a kiss or a nip on her most ticklish spots. His emerald eyes gleamed with a bright joy and brilliant love that he reserved for her and her alone. It was times like these that Judy reveled in the perks of having a fox for a husband.

With the tub now filled, Nick carefully stepped into the hot water, making sure not to jostle the silver bunny in his arms. He took as much care when he leaned over to shut off the faucet. Then, without warning, Nick suddenly dunked himself and Judy below the water level and just as quickly came back up for air. Judy coughed and spluttered out of confusion more than to get the tiny amount of water out of her throat.

"Nick!" she cried. Though, as the fox began chortling, Judy felt a grin creep over her own muzzle despite how "mad" she wanted to be.

Nick finally started to calm down and hugged Judy's wet body to his chest. "I'm sorry, Carrots. I couldn't resist."

"Uh-huh, sure," Judy sarcastically agreed. "Just don't be surprised if I get back at you for that later."

Nick barked out another laugh. "Carrots, please! I'm a _fox_ , remember? You can't pull the wool over these eyes – _easily_ , that is," he added, to which Judy nodded in approval.

"Challenge accepted, then." She nuzzled her wet face into his chest, much to Nick's amusement. "But first, let's get this bath started. Could you hand me that shampoo?"

Nick nodded as he reached over to the edge of the ceramic basin and grabbed one of the few different bottles that sat there. He glanced at the label before handing it over to the bunny on his lap. "Is this the new stuff?"

"To you, yes, but I've been using it for quite a while," Judy answered as she squeezed out a sizable dollop onto her paws. "It smells really nice, and it doesn't take forever to get out of my fur." She began to slowly massage her paws into Nick's chest and stomach, leaving behind a sudsy trail. Judy continued to lather her fox as Nick took another look at the shampoo bottle.

Granted, he didn't really know if he was looking for anything specific, and after a moment, he placed the bottle back with the others. Nick then glanced down at Judy and felt a rush of warmth slither up his spine.

Feeling a pair of eyes on her, Judy glanced up and smiled at Nick's happy face before leaning in and stealing a kiss. "Though, Nick, if you want to keep using this shampoo, we're going to have to buy more. You have more surface area than I do."

Nick chuckled. "Sounds fair enough." He planted a kiss on Judy's forehead as the bunny's paws continued to snake through his fur and distribute the soap over his body.

Judy decided that now was as good a time as any to give Nick a little taste of his own medicine. With slow, deliberate movements, she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Nick's chest. Her paws gently traced wavy, sudsy paths through his coppery coat until they found the small of his back. From there, Judy began to knead her knuckles into the muscles along his spine.

The effect on Nick was immediate. His body tensed for just a split second before all of his muscles relaxed. A long, satisfied sigh escaped his lips, and as he rested his muzzle on top of Judy's head, a peaceful smile crept over his features. Nick then wrapped his arms around his bunny and melted into her massage.

Judy loved it whenever Nick wrapped himself around her. He was like a fuzzy blanket that was undoubtedly warmer and more comfortable than any other. Judy had also come to know this embrace as a safe place – as long as she was in Nick's arms, nothing would ever get to her. However, all good things had to come to an end, and Judy was starting to have trouble reaching Nick's back.

"Hey, Nick, could you turn around?" she reluctantly asked. "I'd like to reach your shoulders.'

With a squeeze and another kiss on the head, Nick complied with less reluctance than Judy would have guessed. She soon found the reason for his lack of resistance when his tail curled itself around her waist. As if it were a living thing, Judy lovingly stroked the wet n' fluffy appendage before resuming her task of massaging her husband.

Nick felt all of the tension ease out of his muscles as Judy's paws worked their magic. However, there was another kind of tension that was starting to build up as it was fueled by the bunny's actions. Nick shook his head to clear his mind – there would be time for _that_ later.

When Judy finally finished, she stood up and leaned against Nick, wrapping her arms around his neck and placing a kiss on his wet cheek. This, of course, did not help the fox's current situation.

Judy leaned forward, placing her muzzle right next to Nick's ear. "Do you think you could help me wash up, Slick?" she asked in a sultry whisper. Nick just about lost it there had it not been for Judy suddenly dunking him under the water. He resurfaced with as much grace as Clawhauser had when charging into a box of donuts. Judy couldn't suppress her laughter as Nick splashed about, sputtering for air and flailing his arms.

"I told you that I'd get you back!" Judy exclaimed triumphantly before breaking out into a fit of giggles. "'Can't pull the wool over these eyes' my tail!"

Nick took a moment to finally get his bearings before turning towards the bunny. A mischievous gleam filled his emerald eyes – the telltale sign that his mind was up to something. With slow movements, Nick reached for the shampoo and squeezed a generous dollop onto his paw. He maintained eye contact with Judy as he slowly lathered his paws. The "tension" in the air was thick as the two mammals waited to see what would transpire in the next few seconds.

The first thing Judy noticed was how taught Nick's legs had become. This told her that he was getting ready to charge at her and probably catch her. Second, Nick was slowing down his lathering, which meant more of his thought process was going to calculating his "attack." The third thing noticed was Nick's tail and how it methodically swayed back and forth.

Of course, all of this noticing took quite a bit of time, and Judy was left unprepared for whenever Nick actually _did_ pounce. The bunny suddenly found herself trapped in the wet and somewhat sudsy arms of her fox. She felt Nick's paws begin to roam over her back, leaving behind a soapy trail as he returned the favor from earlier.

Judy took the opportunity to nuzzle her face into Nick's chest. The scent of the shampoo did everything right with his natural scent, creating an aroma that Judy knew she'd never get tired of smelling. She was so lost in the moment that she didn't realize that Nick had stopped a little while later.

"Hey, Carrots?" he asked for what seemed to be the umpteenth time, but Judy wasn't sure. Upon seeing the bunny glance up at him, Nick continued, "Could you turn around or lean back? I need to clean your front, too."

There was something about the way he looked at her that made Judy blush. She was sure it had to do with the fact that he was aware of how much she loved to lose herself in his scent and fur – he _never_ stopped teasing her about it.

Judy reluctantly turned around and leaned back into Nick's chest. The fox's muzzle rested in the crook of her neck as his paws gently scrubbed through her gray and white fur, making sure to get the skin beneath. As it was very similar to the massage from earlier, Judy began to feel lightheaded as her muscles relaxed, and a happy purr escaped her throat. She was sure that had she found a nice buck and married him, he wouldn't have been able to soothe her like Nick could. There was just something about how his paw pads felt, and the way he would gently incorporate his claws into the stroke.

However, all of it ended too soon for Judy. Before she knew it, Nick was already using a free paw to scoop up the water and gently pour it down her front, cleaning the suds out of her fur. His other arm was tightly wrapped around her waist, keeping her close to him. Judy pressed her body into Nick's chest, and a satisfied sigh escaped her lips.

"You know, Nick," she began as the fox nuzzled her cheek, "there is only one thing that I can think of that would make this the perfect evening."

Judy felt the vibrations of Nick's chuckle against her back, sending a pleasant tingle down her spine. "Is that so?" Nick asked.

The bunny nodded with an accompanying affirmative hum. "That _is_ so. Can you guess what it is?"

"Why Carrots, if you think that after our time together, I'd be able to guess what you're thinking. . . then you'd be wrong. You bunnies are too emotional and complicated for even us foxes to figure out," Nick joked.

Judy was too relaxed to even consider giving her husband a playful shove. However, she did have enough energy to turn herself around and wrap her arms around the fox's neck. She leaned in and locked lips with Nick, losing herself to his embrace. His paws traced slow, gentle paths up and down her sides, sending blossoms of warmth radiating through her body that had nothing to do with the temperature of the water.

"I'll spell it out for you then," Judy purred after they broke the kiss. "The only thing that will make this evening _perfect_ would be my favorite fox taking me to his den."

"If you're bringing up that video again, Carrots," Nick began but was cut off by Judy's quiet chuckle.

"No, I'm over that. For now," she admitted with a mischievous gleam in her violet eyes. Judy leaned forward and caught Nick's muzzle in another kiss. "So, Mr. Fox, what do you plan on doing with the poor, innocent, defenseless bunny in your arms, huh?"

Nick flashed a smile that harbored on the edge of sly, loving, and predatory – one of the smiles that was reserved _specifically_ for Judy. "First off, you 'poor, defenseless bunny,' we're gonna get you dry; I will not have any wet fur in my den." Judy couldn't suppress the giggle that rose from her throat. "We'll see what happens after that," Nick added with a wink before leaning in and embracing his bunny with a kiss again.

* * *

Later that evening, Nick and Judy found themselves snuggled together in the sheets of their bed as they watched Zetflix. The pillows and blankets were still a little lopsided and ruffled from what had happened between the fox and bunny over the past hour, but the two mammals looked completely fine. Judy hugged Nick from the side, practically melting into his body as her muscles recovered from earlier. Nick, on the other hand, was leaning into the bed's headboard a bit more than he usually would, and his body was incredibly relaxed as his held Judy to his side.

All in all, it was blatantly obvious that both mammals were where they wanted to be for the rest of the evening.

The movie they were watching continued to play despite being rather boring in some areas. When those parts came up, Nick and Judy entertained themselves until the film could catch their attention again. As the movie neared the end, though, it was forgotten by the two mammals.

Nick slowly shifted Judy up and onto his lap, keeping their kiss intact throughout the movement. As soon as he the task was completed, his paws began to gently caress the bunny – a little scratch beneath the ears, a stroke up the back. Judy reciprocated with some grooming of her own, her paws roaming through the fox's coppery, course fur. They broke for air on occasion, but even then it was only for a second before they dived back in.

They did eventually turn the TV off after the film ended, and they eased up on their make-out session. Judy nuzzled into Nick's chest as the fox gently nuzzled the crook of her neck. While, during most other times, Judy would be lost in her fox, a particular thought was annoyingly nagging at her.

"Hey, Nick?" she mumbled, still too relaxed to do much of anything else.

"Yeah?" Nick replied before gently nipping her shoulder.

Judy felt the tingling sensation rush through her body. "Is it bad that I'm _not_ looking forward to going to work tomorrow?" she asked as one of her fingers drew lazy circles in the fur on Nick's chest.

The fox chuckled as he placed a kiss on his bun's head. "Normally, I would have considered it to be sacrilege coming from you, but I completely feel you this time. I mean, _I_ wouldn't want to go to work when you have such a _handsome_ fox as myself treating you to such a _glorious_ night."

Judy cracked a smile. "I was pretty sure it was the other way around, Slick," she joked, glancing up into those emerald eyes that she loved so much. "But you do make a point. I guess the only thing that's making work somewhat tolerable, though, is that fact that _you'll_ be there suffering by my side as well."

Nick chuckled. "I do it for you, you know," he admitted as he carefully shuffled his weight so that he and Judy were now laying on the bed, their arms wrapped around one another.

Judy placed a kiss on the bottom of Nick's jaw. "I love you, you cheesy fox."

Nick replied in kind and chuckled. "I love you, you gorgeous bunny."

With small kisses and gentle strokes here and there, the fox and bunny slowly drifted off into a peaceful sleep, ready for whatever tomorrow had in store for them.

 **I'm incredibly glad that DrummerMax64 gave me a request for some R &R&C (Rest, Relaxation, and Cuddles) in a one-shot, for it was the** _ **perfect**_ **thing that I needed to help me come back from my temporary hiatus. I had a lot going on over the course of November, but now that December has rolled around, I have free time again, and I'm ready to go! Family Ties will be updating this upcoming Friday – I hope – so be on the lookout for that.**

 **I hope you guys caught some sneaky references in there. I'll give you some hints so you can go looking for them in case you missed them:**

 **One Hundred Kisses by Cimar of Turalis WildeHopps (this one's a bit vague and has to do with wordplay, so you'll have to really look for it)**

 **Eric Schwartz's comic where Nick and Judy are showering together (I cannot remember the name of it for the life of me)**

 **That Mr. Fox comic by TGWeaver that cropped up months ago that I almost completely forgot about until I started writing it in here. Man, that brought back memories from when the Zootopia fandom was still young and new. . . . Why do I feel old? That was only** _ **months**_ **ago! What is going on!?**

 **Anywho, don't forget, if you have a request,** **PM it to me unless you don't have an account** **!** _ **If you leave a request in a non-guest review, it won't be added in.**_ **(even though it may be really tempting for me to write, I'd like to keep this "professional") If you wanna know what is and isn't accepted, check out the previous chapter; the rules are all there. Also, to those of you who have already given me a request, don't worry: I'm still working on them. You haven't and never will be forgotten!**

 **Until next time!**


	4. Home for the Holidays

**Just a friendly reminder that this story is not canon to the others I have written. However, this could totally happen in the universe that I have created. I hope you guys enjoy, and Merry Christmas!**

 **Also, a huge thanks to Birchly for letting me use their art for the cover! Go check out more on their DeviantArt and/or Tumblr!**

Home for the Holidays

Requested by BeecroftA

For most mammals, winter was probably the best time of the year. The cold weather was the perfect excuse to cuddle with one's mate or close friend, hot cocoa was a smart decision, and warm fires burned in hearths and hearts alike. Some mammals had a special kind of heat brought to them via the cold, creating an atmosphere of excessive romance that most others found endearing. For Nicholas Wilde, however, the constant displays of affection only soured his mood as he walked along, reminding him of one of the few reasons why he disliked winter.

It wasn't so much that Nick didn't have a mate during his "trying" times – with the feelings he had for his partner, he didn't want to go looking for anyone else right now. No, it was the fact that winter brought with it the constant reminder of Nick's past mistakes. Everywhere the fox cop looked, he saw families just being happy in each other's company. With every laugh that reached his ears, Nick felt a pang of guilt in his heart.

"What's got you down, Slick?" a voice to his right caught his attention, drawing Nick away from his musings. The fox turned his head towards the smaller mammal walking beside him and felt a warm flutter in his chest. Judy Hopps was the first bunny cop in the ZPD, and she had managed to hustle him into eventually joining the force himself. Since then, they've been inseparable friends, though Nick had recently found that he saw her as something more.

Judy repeated her question, again drawing Nick out of his inner thoughts. "Sorry Carrots. I'm just letting my mind wander for a bit," Nick dismissively stated, half-lying.

Of course, the bunny cop was not buying it. In the year of being partners on the force together, Nick realized that Judy had become rather skilled at reading him, no matter how strong his masks were. The fact both unnerved and relieved the fox for multiple reasons. "I see," Judy muttered, seemingly unimpressed with the excuse. "Are you sure you want to come to the ZPD's Christmas party? We can just hang out at your place if you don't feel like doing anything else," she offered.

"Don't worry - I want to go to this party," Nick, again, half-lied. _At least then I won't feel as "bothered" as I would if we were alone,_ he thought. If he hadn't been already, he would have thought being in love with a bunny was impossible for someone of his species. But here he was, afraid of being alone with his partner and crush.

Judy shot Nick a look that he was all too familiar with – a small frown and squinted eyes that said, "I'm on to you." Eventually, the bunny stopped in front of the fox, her face and body set with determination. Nick fidgeted under her violet gaze, suddenly feeling very self-aware. He inwardly chuckled as he imagined what the two must look like to others – a fox seemingly afraid of a stern-looking bunny.

"Nick, tell me, what's wrong?" Judy asked, her voice kind and soft. She watched as Nick shuffled his weight and kept his eyes downcast. Something was bothering him, but the bunny just couldn't tell what. However, she was determined to find out. Off to the side, Judy found a bench designed for smaller mammals such as herself and Nick. She grabbed the fox's paw and gently led her partner over to the wooden seat before sitting herself beside him.

Nick kept his eyes downcast, but inside, butterflies were raging around his stomach as he realized that at this moment, there would be no escape for him. There was no possible way for him to use his charm or wit to his advantage. Nick wasn't normally one to divulge his inner demons to anyone, but when Judy took charge, he found himself willing to do so. It was scary, to be sure, but there was something about the fact that he was talking to his partner and best friend that made the experience all the more bearable.

"Nick, please, tell me what's wrong," Judy endearingly repeated, taking one of the fox's paws in hers. "I can't stand to see my best friend down in the dumps this close to Christmas."

Nick risked glancing into those amethyst orbs he had come to love as much as the bunny to whom they belonged. Upon seeing the sincere kindness and concern for him within those eyes, the fox felt the last of his hesitation crumble away. Nick sighed, his breath fogging in front of him. "I'm sorry, Carrots. I always get a bit put out by the thought of Christmas," he admitted.

Judy's eyes widened in surprise. "Why?" she asked, though plenty of other questions rushed through her mind at that moment.

Nick dismissively shrugged. "I don't know. It could be because winter is the mating season for foxes, so I'm regularly taking 'chill pills' to keep myself in check."

Judy's brows furrowed together in confusion. "Those shouldn't be affecting your mood like that, though," she mumbled more to herself than to Nick. "Are you sure you're only taking the prescribed amount?"

"Yes, I'm sure that I'm taking the prescribed amount," Nick mumbled with a faint sense of embarrassment. He decided to ease his nerves with a small change in subject. "You take suppressants, too, right?"

The bunny cop nodded. "I kinda _had_ to if I wanted to be a police officer. Those chill pills were the only way for me to focus on work and not on finding a good buck to have litters with. Here in Zootopia, my season isn't as distracting, so I use them less frequently."

"I see," Nick commented thoughtfully. The conversation lulled, bringing the fox to hope that Judy would start talking again soon - his mind was drawing up blanks on how to carry on the discussion.

Much to the fox's relief, the bunny did just that. "Anyways, back on track. If you are only taking the prescribed amount of suppressants, then you shouldn't feel so depressed. I can tell something deeper is eating at you, Nick." Judy paused and sighed before her gaze flicked away from Nick's – a first since the conversation had started. "I understand you may not want to tell me, but I hope you realize that I'm here for you, no matter what. Okay?"

Nick sighed, knowing that the bunny was right. He didn't _have_ to share his thoughts with anyone else, but he now wanted to. Thanks to Judy, he had learned that keeping things bottled up wasn't healthy in the long run. The fox was just worried about how the bunny would react to what _actually_ had him down in the dumps.

"Okay," Nick mumbled, his green eyes locking on to Judy's. "But you have to promise not to make a big deal out of it, got it?"

When he got the affirmation from Judy via a nod of her head, the fox took a deep breath to steel himself and prepared his statement. "Christmas always gets me down because I haven't celebrated it for twenty years," he stated rather matter-of-factly. He let his words sink in and said nothing more, waiting for Judy's reaction.

The bunny merely looked confused more than anything. "That's it?" she asked, sounding almost disappointed. "Really?"

Nick couldn't help the amused smirk that crept over his muzzle as he saw Judy's nose twitch in thought. "Really, really," he repeated.

"Well, what about your parents? Don't they celebrate Christmas?" Judy asked, hoping to find another angle that she could use. What Nick said didn't give her a lot to work with regarding making him feel better.

Upon seeing Nick's ears gently fold against his head and his smirk falter just a bit, Judy knew she had found more. "I'm sure that my mom does, but I haven't seen her in a long time," the fox answered sullenly.

Judy decided to tread lightly from here. "Do you think that because you haven't seen your mom in a long time, you don't celebrate Christmas? And because you don't celebrate Christmas, you're feeling glum?" she suggested, connecting the dots.

Nick dismissively shrugged, but that was enough to tell the bunny that she had hit the nail on the head. A sympathetic smile found its way onto her muzzle, and her expression significantly softened. "Is that really it?" Judy asked in a gentle tone. The fox still avoided her gaze, though it was due more to the fact that he couldn't withstand the amount of adorableness radiating off of her than out of embarrassment. "Well, I know the perfect way to cheer you up!" the bunny exclaimed, taking Nick's silence as an affirmation. She hopped off the bench and pulled her partner along by his paw.

"Woah, woah, hold up! Wait a minute, Carrots," Nick blurted as he regained his balance and gently jerked his paw free. Judy paused ahead of him before turning around and giving him an inquisitive look. "If your plan has anything to do with visiting my mother, I'd rather not do it. I. . ." his voice trailed off as he hung his head in what Judy thought to be shame. "I don't want to face the repercussions of my past, alright?"

"Nick," Judy slowly walked up to her partner, intent on comforting him, "I know how you feel. During the Night Howler Case, I hurt you at the press conference, remember? I'm not sure if you realize this, but I turned in my badge and ran back to home with my 'fuzzy wuzzy little tail between my legs'," she chuckled sadly. "I didn't want to go back to Zootopia. I wanted to stay home and be miserable for the rest of my life. Sure, it would've sucked, but at least I wouldn't have to face my mistakes.

"Even when Gideon offhandedly mentioned Night Howlers and helped me figure out the secret behind the _Midnicampum Holicithias_ , there was a part of me that still wasn't willing to go back. I was _so_ afraid of seeing you again, because I wasn't sure how you would react. Would you push me away? Attack me out of anger? I'm sorry to say it, but I never really thought you would forgive me, what with all the doubts floating around in my mind.

"Anyway, to get straight to the point: I know how you feel right now. I understand not wanting to go back and making things right for fear of getting hurt more than you already are, but it just isn't healthy; trust me. I'll go with you to your mom's house should you decide to go, but I promise that you'll feel a lot better if you do."

Judy wasn't sure what she was expecting out of Nick's reaction. Perhaps he would sullenly agree to go, or maybe just flat out refuse. But suddenly finding herself wrapped in his arms and pressed against his chest was not expected. Once she got over her confusion, though, Judy quickly returned the hug as she enjoyed the warmth of the fox that she had somehow developed affectionate feelings for over the past few months. Not that she would ever tell Nick that, though – at least, not right now.

"Thank you, Judy," the fox mumbled into her shoulder.

The bunny was a bit reluctant to reply, knowing that if she did, it would be time to plan out how they would get to Mrs. Wilde's house. This also meant that it would be time to end their warm hug, which Judy didn't want to happen. If anything, she knew the weather would seem just a bit colder after having been exposed to the pleasant heat.

"You're welcome," Judy mumbled back, and her hunch was proven correct: Nick slowly and reluctantly ended the embrace. His tail, however, seemed intent on staying near her, if only to help stave off the cold. Judy smiled when she noticed this, and decided to give the fluffy appendage a gentle stroke. She didn't see that Nick tensed up at her touch, though, nor that his ears and cheeks grew a darker shade of red under his fur.

"Alright, so should we head back and change before we head to my mom's house?" Nick asked, his voice carrying a very slight waiver. He was lucky he had learned to control his emotions growing up, though love was one that he hadn't a lot of practice with.

Judy gave Nick a once-over before considering her own wardrobe. Both mammals had gotten ugly Christmas sweaters for the party, though they certainly did their job in keeping them warm. Underneath the sweaters were their casual attire, seeing as they had the day off today.

"Unless you want to stop by your apartment and grabs some snacks – seeing as all I have is bunny-oriented – then I think we should just head straight there. Though, I don't know where she lives," Judy admitted rather bashfully.

"Ah, so you leading me away wouldn't have gotten us anywhere, huh?" Nick commented with a smirk on his face and a chuckle in his throat. His smile widened when he saw the embarrassed blush creep over the bunny's cheeks. "It's alright, Fluff." He gently tussled Judy's ears as he began walking. "I know the way. We might as well stop somewhere and get some cookies or the like – showing up empty-handed could be considered rude."

* * *

About fifteen minutes later, Nick found himself standing on the front porch of the home that he never thought he would see again. Nervous butterflies inside of his stomach merged together to create a heavy knot, but with Judy by his side, the fox found that he could face his mother again.

With a reassuring glance from Judy, Nick took a deep breath and knocked on the door. The sound seemed to echo throughout the house behind the door, hinting at a possible emptiness. Seconds ticked by as nothing seemed to happen. It was as if either not a soul resided in the house anymore, or not a creature was stirring. Since foxes were nocturnal, Nick certainly didn't leave out the latter possibility.

Movement from behind the window caught Nick's attention, but it was gone as quick as it appeared. The fox was a bit curious, but decided to ignore it. A few more minutes of silence passed by, and Nick decided to knock again.

"I'm coming! I'm coming!" came a voice from inside, gently startling Nick and Judy. The fox recognized the voice, but it was a lot harsher than what he remembered from his childhood.

Incoherent mumbling was barely audible from behind the door, but the sound of multiple locks being fiddled with was unmistakable. Nick felt his nervousness return, but with it came a wave of joy as he realized that he was going to see his mother again after twenty years. With Judy by his side, he could finally introduce them to each other, figuratively killing two birds with one stone.

As more locks were undone from inside, Nick took a moment to adjust his collar and double check the item in his paws. He and Judy currently wore matching sweaters that he felt defined the stereotypical ugly Christmas sweater: startlingly red and green with cute holiday related designs. Nick's said "Merry Christmas" on the front; Judy's, "Happy Holidays." Despite their attention-grabbing attire, mammals didn't give the two cops a second glance as they had stopped by the store to grab some Christmas cookies – the item in Nick's paws.

When the last lock clicked, Nick was drawn from his panicked musings and turned his attention to the door. He and Judy both involuntarily leaned forward as they waited to see who the door would reveal. Hundreds of different thoughts traveled through the fox's head as the seconds ticked by. Questions such as "Would she recognize me?" and "Will she forgive me for running away?" were among them. A tiny paw on his arm caught Nick's attention, and the fox turned towards his partner. Judy wore a warm smile on her face and a reassuring look in her amethyst eyes, immediately calming Nick down – somewhat.

The door opened so fast that both cops nearly jumped out of their skin and sweaters, and Nick had to fumble with the cookies before he managed to keep them off of the ground. After they got over the initial shock, Nick and Judy both turned their attention back to the door. The fox felt a fresh wave a guilt wash over him.

A vixen stood before the two cops. The gray sweater and sweatpants combo that she wore were faded with years of use and looked rather bland compared to Nick and Judy's wooly attire. The vixen's fur seemed lackluster, and Nick could – sadly – make out quite a few strands of gray among the sea of dull red. Both cops looked up to meet the vixen's eyes. They found harsh, cold emerald orbs that were currently scrutinizing them.

Silence fell on the trio of mammals as the vixen seemingly tried to deduce exactly why this fox and bunny were on her doorstep. Nick nervously cleared his throat and stepped forward. "Hey, Mom," he muttered with a sheepish smile. Luckily, it was loud enough for the vixen to hear.

"'Mom?'" she repeated, her voice carrying a tone that could have been kind at one point in her life. The vixen gave Nick a once-over before realization sank in. "Oh, it's you." Nick was somewhat surprised and hurt by the cold greeting.

"Y-yeah, it's me, Nick Wilde. Your son," Nick offered, stuttering _just_ a little as he got over his initial confusion as to his mother's unconventional greeting.

Mrs. Wilde stepped towards her son, who was prepared for anything _but_ the hearty slap that she gave him across the cheek. While Nick recovered from the stinging pain on his face, Mrs. Wilde glared down at him. "Twenty years missing, and you never call _once!_ " she yelled, the fur on her tail bristling. "Not _once!_ I would have thought that I had raised a better son, but then I have to remember that I wasn't around for your more formative years. That's what you get for running away, though!"

Judy had flinched when she saw Nick get slapped, and she kept cringing as Mrs. Wilde chewed her son out. _I'm not gonna stand here and let him take this by himself,_ she thought. "Uh, excuse me!" Judy said, catching the vixen's attention. While the emerald gaze wasn't exactly soft and kind, it was definitely not as cold as the one that Nick had received.

"Who are you?" Mrs. Wilde asked plainly.

The bunny straightened herself up, though it was more to build confidence in herself than a show of intimidation or determination. "I'm Officer Judy Hopps, ma'am. Nick is my partner on the force," she stated in an accidentally professional tone. Blushing ever so slightly, Judy softened her posture, expression, and tone of voice before she continued, "We came to visit you for Christmas."

"Oh you have, have you?" Mrs. Wilde's eyes regarded the bunny in a suspicious light before she turned back to her son, who now flinched away for fear of another slap. "Oh, come in then," she muttered with reluctance before she entered her house. Nick was a bit hesitant to follow, but soon did just that with Judy by his side.

The two cops drank in their surroundings as they entered the house. The wallpaper was the same design and color as Nick's old shirt, much to Judy's surprise and amusement. Dust gently floated in the stuffy air, and the floorboards creaked under the weight of the fox and bunny. Nick felt more guilt stab at his heart as he saw that all the family photos that used to line the shelves were missing, leaving behind empty spaces. Judy noticed that there wasn't a single Christmas decoration in sight. All in all, the house was dry, bland, and lacking in happiness.

"In here!" Mrs. Wilde's curt order came from what Judy thought to be the living room. She and Nick entered to see a faded, somewhat torn-up couch and a few rickety-looking chairs strewn about. Mrs. Wilde vaguely gestured towards the seats as she took her own. The two cops decided to sit on the couch together, and Nick placed the cookies on the battered coffee table in front of him.

An incredibly awkward silence fell on the trio of mammals. Judy glanced between Mrs. Wilde and her son, looking for any crack that she could exploit for the betterment of both foxes. Nick was the image of controlled nervousness: he seemed acceptably calm on the outside, though a little tell would leak through, such as a twitch of the ear or a swish of his tail. Mrs. Wilde, on the other hand, was coldly studying her son. It seemed to Judy that there was twenty years' worth of anger, heartbreak, and confusion violently churning behind those emerald eyes that were so strikingly similar to Nick's. The sight brought with it a pang of sadness for Judy as she realized that Mrs. Wilde was trying to deal with the hurt that Nick had caused her.

Neither fox initiated the conversation, and after a full minute of silence went by, Judy decided to get the ball rolling. "So, Mrs. Wilde," the bunny began with a faint waiver in her voice. Two sets of emerald eyes turned to her, but that didn't break her resolve. "I noticed that you hadn't put up any Christmas decorations."

The vixen scoffed as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Is that a crime, _Officer_?" she drawled as she rolled her eyes.

"No, no, it's not," Judy stammered, going on the defensive. "I was just curious, because Nick told me he doesn't quite celebrate Christmas anymore. I wasn't sure if you felt the same way."

Mrs. Wilde turned back to her son. "You don't celebrate Christmas anymore?" she echoed, her voice still harsh. After getting an almost imperceptible nod from Nick, the vixen scoffed and turned back to Judy. "I stopped celebrating soon after that moron," she pointed to Nick, "ran away. At the time, I couldn't stand pretending to be happy while I knew that you were out there somewhere, alone and miserable. After years and years of never hearing a single _peep_ from you, I got over myself and stopped caring. However, I got so used to not celebrating Christmas that I never got around to taking it back up."

Judy's ears fell behind her head. "That's horrible!" she exclaimed as sadness washed over her.

"That's life," Mrs. Wilde shrugged. "Everything doesn't always turn out perfect like in those fairy tales and whatnot. I somehow messed up with my parenting skills, and I lost a son because of it. I had to live with that mistake for twenty years, so the sooner I accepted it and moved on, the sooner my life could work towards getting better."

Again, more silence fell over the trio as Judy tried to think of something to say. Her thoughts were temporarily interrupted when Mrs. Wilde leaned over and retrieved a few cookies before noisily stuffing them in her mouth. Nick remained silent, but his posture said enough to Judy. He hung his head, and his emerald eyes were filled with a look of shame. The bunny wanted to reach out and comfort her partner, but for some reason, it felt wrong to do so in the presence of the crabby Mrs. Wilde.

Finally, a thought came to Judy. "Did you know that Nick became a police officer?" the bunny asked, hoping that this topic would lighten the mood.

"I figured that out when you said he was your partner, Officer Hopps," the vixen dryly replied. "Besides, you two have been the talk of the town: the two faces of the ZPD and whatnot. Honestly, all of that bores me." She turned to Nick. "I know that being a police officer can be tough and time-consuming, but that isn't a good excuse as to why you still didn't contact me!"

Nick shrunk in on himself more, and Judy heard a nearly inaudible whine escape his throat. The sound tugged on Judy's heartstrings, knowing how hopeful Nick had been for this meeting. Anger began to boil inside of the bunny as she stood and turned to the vixen. "Alright, that's enough!" she cried, startling Nick and grabbing the attention of Mrs. Wilde, who lazily turned to acknowledge the bunny cop. "Why are you so hard on Nick, huh? Sure, he's been a jerk for most of his life, but he's really changed! He helped me with my first case and became my partner after that! He's saved my life more times than I can count, and we've only been working together for about a year. And yet, you can't seem to look past the fact that he ran away from home!

"From what he's told me, he had it rough growing up. Prey and predator alike picked on him because he was a _fox_ , and eventually, he gave in to the stereotype. He must have done a good job, because that's all your treating him as: a shifty fox. It's like you can't even trust him because you're afraid he might run away again!" She paused to turn to Nick, who was staring at her with wide eyes and a surprised expression on his face. "But he's not like that anymore. I place my life in his paws every day, and not _once_ do I consider the possibility of him hurting me. He's the best partner I'll ever have, and a bunny couldn't ask for a better friend."

The cop spun back to Mrs. Wilde, who's face remained impassive. "If you can't forgive Nick for what he did in the past, then he and I have no more business here." Judy began to leave the living room when Nick's paw gently latched onto her wrist.

"Carrots, wait," Nick said, speaking up for the first time since they had entered the house. When Judy turned to acknowledge the fox with a slightly confused expression on her face, the fox continued, "While you're right about my mom not forgiving me, you have to realize that I haven't given her anything to forgive, yet."

The bunny's head tilted to the side as her eyebrows furrowed in an unspoken question. Nick gently released Judy's wrist before turning to his mother. "Mom, I'm. . ." his voice trailed off as his heart caught in his throat. The fox took a moment to get his emotions in check, but this was proving to be easier said than done as tears stung at his eyes. "I'm so sorry for what I did. Seeing you so hurt when I came home after that first Junior Ranger Scouts meeting nearly tore my heart in two, and I knew I didn't want to see you hurt ever again – at least, not because of me. I thought I was helping you by running off, but when I finally came to my senses, I couldn't bring myself to come and see you again. I didn't know how you would take to seeing me after so long.

"I'm sorry that you don't celebrate Christmas anymore, because you deserve to be happy. You deserve to not constantly worry if your son is doing alright alone on the streets. You deserve a smarter, better son than me." With that, Nick fell quiet. His mind was fresh out of somewhat corny apologies, and his mask was slipping fast. He hung his head to hid the tears that began to fall.

The next few moments of silence felt more like an eternity of agony to Nick as he waited to hear what his mother would say. Would she yell at him again, possibly attacking Judy as well for her outburst earlier? Would she kick them out of the house and tell them never to come here again? No matter how negative the thought, there was one thing that gave Nick hope: Judy. The fox had felt something warm and fuzzy wash over him as he watched his partner stand up to his mother. It was faintly comical, seeing a bunny yell at a fox, but it was also endearing. Nick never knew just how much he meant to Judy, though he knew how much she meant to him.

No matter what happened between him and his mother, Nick knew that he would always have Judy by his side. That thought alone sent a pleasant tingle down his spine, and the fox quickly shelved a plan to somehow get that bunny under the mistletoe so he could "thank" her properly.

A shuffling of weight caught Nick's attention, drawing him from his doubts and hopes. "Now Nicky," came a kind voice; a voice that Nick wasn't expecting, yet was so very familiar with, "was that so hard?"

Suddenly, two warm arms wrapped around Nick's neck as he was pulled into the tightest, warmest embrace he had ever felt in years. It was a mother's embrace, and it brought with it so many emotions that Nick couldn't hold back his feelings any longer. He let the tears freely stream down his face as he hugged his mother back.

"You know I can never stay mad at you, dear!" Mrs. Wilde jubilantly stated, though her voice was thick with emotions and tears gently rolled down her cheeks.

Judy smiled as she watched mother and son embrace. Images of her own parents back in Bunnyburrow flashed through her mind, and she made a mental note to call them soon to wish them a Merry Christmas.

Mrs. Wilde loosened her grip on Nick, though she wasn't ready to completely end the hug yet. "I hope you and your friend can forgive my attitude earlier. When I saw that it was you standing on my doorstep from the window, I couldn't help but have a little fun and get a bit of payback," she admitted, giving her son a sly grin and a wink.

Nick's and Judy's jaws fell slack. "That was an act!?" the bunny exclaimed, suddenly feeling very guilty for her outburst earlier.

Mrs. Wilde's laugh was soft and musical. "Of course! I couldn't _really_ be that angry with my son. Besides, the looks on your faces make all of this worth it!" She laughed again.

"But, what about the Christmas decorations then?" Nick asked, gesturing to the room around them. "Do you really not celebrate Christmas?"

Mrs. Wilde playfully shoved her son away. "Of course not, Nick. I've always celebrated Christmas, though it hasn't been the same after you left. When I heard on the news that you became a police officer, I was certain that you'd visit me this year. So, I planned out this whole act and purposefully kept from decorating until you came."

Judy found herself smiling at the vixen's cheery disposition. "But, don't you have to put up all your decorations now that we've visited?"

"That's the thing!" Mrs. Wilde blurted, her tail excitedly wagging behind her. "Now that you're here, we can decorate the house together! That is, if you want to."

Judy glanced to Nick, who's eyes were filled with nothing but relief and joy. She received his confirmation via a nod. "We'd love to Mrs. Wilde!"

"Oh please, Judy, call me Marian," the vixen corrected, her face practically beaming.

* * *

With help from her son, Marian had retrieved the hidden boxes of decorations from a closet in the hall, as well as some cleaning supplies. The vixen had admitted that even the dreary state of her house was a ploy, but it now had to be cleaned to return to its original state.

Marian removed her gray sweater and sweatpants, revealing the gorgeously green sweater that she wore underneath. The pants she now wore were hardly different from the gray sweatpants, but they were in much better condition and looked much more comfortable.

Old family pictures of little Nick were put back in their rightful places, though Marian and Judy got a bit side-tracked when they found an old photo album. All the usual images were there: the Wilde family going on vacations, those special family picture days, and, of course, a naked baby Nick running around as Marian tried to get him to take a bath. Both females got a good laugh out of that last picture, much to Nick's eternal embarrassment. Judy made sure to catalog all of this new information for later use against Nick, should she ever need it.

"Ugh, I regret beating out that rug in here," Marian complained as they dusted the hallway. "Even if it was to sell my act, it was a dumb idea. Nick, remind me never to do that again."

Nick chuckled as he turned to his mother. "You got it, Mom," he stated before returned to his work.

Soon, the dusting was finished, and it was time to start decorating the hallway. "Judy, would you be a dear and grab the box from the living room?" Mrs. Wilde asked.

Judy was already on her way before she stopped and turned back to the vixen. "Which one?"

"The big one, please. And if you need help, don't be afraid to holler for one of us," Marian explained, and once the bunny was gone, she turned to her son. "She's pretty."

Nick felt heat crawl up the back of his neck, though he didn't say anything. Instead, he opted to distract himself by becoming very interested in the bit of shelf he was dusting. The sight brought a warm smile to the vixen's face.

"Nick, I've seen the way you look at her. Though, I don't think I'll ever fully understand why you fell in love with a _bunny_ , of all mammals." Marian added this last bit as more of an afterthought to herself.

The younger fox tensed up at this, his tail bristling in embarrassed nervousness. "Mom! She'll hear you!" he hissed, turning towards the vixen in a desperate attempt to keep any sensitive information from being leaked.

"Well, of course she'll hear me," Marian stated blandly. "She's a bunny after all."

Nick let out a low whine as he shushed his mother again. The vixen scoffed. "Listen here, Nicky. Seeing as you've been here for only twenty minutes after twenty _years_ of absence, I get to have a little bit of the fun that I've missed out on. And that includes embarrassing you in front of your crush. But, I'll let you in on a little secret," she whispered, leaning in closer. "This is how we mothers deduce if our boy has found a keeper."

"But we aren't a _thing_ , Mom!" Nick vainly contended.

"Not yet, you aren't," Marian smirked at her son before turning back to the shelf and placing an old picture atop it. It showed Nick when he first got his Junior Ranger Scouts uniform; he proudly smiled at the camera.

"A little help, please?" came Judy's voice from the living room. The two foxes glanced at each other, and it soon became clear to the both of them who would be going to help the bunny. With a sigh, Nick trudged away from his mother as he worried about how much Judy had possibly heard.

* * *

In reality, while Judy had been able to hear the conversation, she was more focused on getting the large box off of the floor and into the hallway. At first, she was determined to do the job without any help; being the only bunny – and prey, for that matter – in the house had planted a seed of competition in the usually competitive cop. Unfortunately for her, she just didn't have the strength needed to comfortably lift the box off of the floor and into the hallway, no matter how hard she tried.

While she was a bit embarrassed to call for help, Judy was glad to see Nick come to her aid. However, he seemed a bit off as he walked over and took one end of the box in his paws. The bunny considered asking what was wrong, but ultimately decided against it for now. It would be a bit awkward to have a conversation with Nick about his inner feelings in front of his mother, given the circumstances.

As the two mammals carried the box of decorations into the hallway, Judy felt a wave of relief and heat wash over her as Nick gave her one of his signature wink n' smirk combos. The bunny dipped her head to hide her somewhat embarrassed smile, much to the fox's amusement.

"Ah, perfect!" Marian exclaimed happily as the decorations were set on the floor next to her. "Now we can get decorating!"

The vixen grabbed a handful of different holiday decor items and instructed Nick and Judy to do the same. It soon became obvious to the two cops that Marian had no set pattern when it came to placement. "Wherever it feels right," was her reply when Judy had asked for some kind of direction. While a bit wary of the unorthodox tradition, Nick and Judy soon joined their mother in carefully, and yet, almost haphazardly putting up decorations around the house.

Tinsel was hung along the edges of shelves, Santa Claws figurines were stationed at random positions around the house, and plenty of paper snowflakes hung from the ceiling. Small clusters of cinnamon-infused pine cones sat atop various horizontal surfaces where they wouldn't be in the way, and a bowl of candy canes was placed on the coffee table. And of course, Marian managed to sneak some mistletoe above multiple door frames. The vixen wryly smiled to herself as she kept a mental note of these particular decorations; they could come in handy later.

"Why don't you two go decorate Nick's room?" Marian suggested as soon as the trio had finished with the most of the house. "I'll get started on the snacks."

The two cops agreed to the idea as their holiday spirits were strong enough to drown out any awkward embarrassment that they would have towards being in the same room together, let alone Nick's old bedroom. The fox and bunny found a small box of decorations, and Nick led the way. His old "den" was located near the back of the house, tucked away next to the kitchen.

Nick tensed up a bit as his paw gripped the doorknob. He was a bit nervous to see what state his room would be in, but he didn't need Judy to tell him that he was being silly. Taking a deep breath, the fox opened the door and crossed a threshold he hadn't crossed in decades.

His jaw went slack as he took in his old room. It looked exactly as he remembered it – the bed tucked away in the corner to his right with the window sitting across the room. A small desk sat on the far wall next to the bed, and from where he was standing, Nick could see his many superhero figurines that he used to play with. Turning to the left, the fox could see the closet that supposedly held all of his old clothes. Posters of the Junior Ranger Scouts sat atop wallpaper that matched the rest of the house.

Nick felt such a strong wave of nostalgia that he sat down on the bed to drink it all in. To his amusement, the mattress gave a faint creaking noise as it quickly grew accustomed to his weight.

"This is your old room?" Judy asked, her eyes seemingly taking in every detail. After receiving an affirmative nod from Nick, she smiled. "It's nice."

"Thanks, Carrots," the fox stated as his paw patted the space next to him, signaling for the bunny to come sit down. After placing the box of decorations on the desk, Judy did just that. Almost immediately, Nick's arm wrapped around her shoulder and hugged her close. The two simply enjoyed each other's company in silence for the next few moments as they both processed how great their day had been so far.

Nick couldn't believe that his mother had forgiven him, yet at the same time, he always had a sneaking suspicion that she would. He was happy that Judy was there with him, even if it meant that his mother would tease him about it.

Judy, on the other hand, was happy _for_ Nick. She had helped reunite him with his mother after twenty years of absence, and had given his heart hope for Christmas again. Truth be told, she found this course of events way more fun than any ZPD Christmas party.

"I wonder if all my old clothes are still in there," Nick absentmindedly stated as he looked towards the closet. He then glanced down to Judy. "You wouldn't _believe_ some of the fashion I was into as a kid."

Judy let out a small chuckle. "Well, seeing as you _love_ ugly sweaters and floral button-up shirts, I wouldn't be too surprised by what I may see."

Nick poked his tongue out at the bunny as he lifted himself off of the bed and made his way to the closet. Judy reciprocated the action as she watched her partner open the folding closet doors. While he did find his clothes, there was something far more surprising hidden in the small space.

Sitting in a pile on the floor were twenty presents, all wrapped and all signed to Nick. Each had its own card addressed to Nick, who was certain that they said something along the lines of "Welcome home," or "I knew you'd like this." It was a bit much for the fox, and he soon felt the tears coming on again. There was something about being in such a familiar environment that allowed him to break his mask so easily, especially in front of Judy.

The bunny was by Nick's side in an instant, though when she saw the presents, she couldn't help but smile warmly and embrace the fox. After a minute or so of sitting on the floor in front of a pile of presents, Judy leaned over and whispered into Nick's ear, "Why don't you open these? I'm sure your mom won't mind, seeing as she was the one who sent us back here in the first place."

Nick's joyful tears had already dried, though they had given his eyes an incredible twinkle that Judy found endearing and captivating beyond belief. "That sounds like a good idea, Carrots. Would you like to help me carry these to the bed?"

"I'd love to," Judy answered, and the two mammals were soon situated on the creaky mattress with twenty presents strewn about.

"Which one should I open first?" Nick asked as he glanced from box to box.

Judy placed a paw under her chin in thought as her eyes came to rest on the oldest-looking present. According to the date on the tag, this was the first present that Marian had gotten for her prodigal son. "How about you go in order?" she said, handing the present to the fox.

Nick gave the bunny a happy smirk. "Sounds good to me," he said before ripping into the wrapping and revealing a Ninten-doe Game Boy – the one item he remembered wanting more than anything when he was a kid. It even came with one of the older Pokemammal games.

Judy couldn't help but giggle as Nick's eyes grew as wide as dinner plates and his mouth stretched into the largest smile the bunny had ever seen on the fox's face. "No way!" he exclaimed with all the excitement of a young kit. "She was able to get me _this!?_ Why didn't I come home sooner?"

"Don't beat yourself too much, Slick," Judy teased before reaching for the second present. "Besides, you still got plenty of presents left."

"But this is all I need in life," Nick contended as he quickly booted up the system and started the game. As soon as the 8-bit music filled the room, Nick's tail began to furiously wag. "Oh, I am _so_ gonna be playing this during my free time!"

"As long as you don't forget about me, we'll be fine," Judy commented with false envy in her voice.

Nick then turned towards the bunny with a confused expression on his face. "Wait, who are you again?" he asked, but his ignorant facade could only last for about a split second longer before he burst into laughter. Rolling her eyes, Judy joined in as well.

"Come on, open your second present!" Judy stated impatiently as she practically shoved the box into Nick's paws. Just before he could tear into the wrapping, however, the bunny stopped him. "Read the card first, this time," she suggested.

While Nick remembered that there were, in fact, cards taped to each of the gifts, he didn't feel guilty about ignoring the first one - he had a Game Boy now! After gently tearing off the slip of paper, Nick set the present down and read the note aloud.

"Dear Nick,  
I missed you last year. If you had just been home sooner, you would have had plenty more time to spend on that Game Boy. But, if you're reading this, then you're home now, which is incredible to me. I know why you ran away, but I want you to know that you didn't have to. I promise you, I would have been – and will still be – there to help get you past these tough times. I love you, my little Nicky.  
Oh, I almost forgot about the present! I think you'll like this one. It's 'all the rage' with kids these days, or so the TV says.  
Much love,  
Mom"

"All the rage, huh?" Judy repeated, hoping to hide the bout of emotions that the note had stirred up.

"I think I know what this is," Nick stated as he gently set the note on the desk next to his Game Boy. He gently shook the present next to his ear, though hardly any sound came from the box. "Yep, I know what this is," he repeated with a tone of excitement in his voice.

The wrapping paper was messily ripped from the box, revealing a Super Deluxe Pro Yo-Yo. While Nick seemed super thrilled, Judy was left a little clueless. "Yes! I've _always_ wanted one of these since they were first released!" Nick exclaimed as he tore apart the packaging. "And it's one of the first editions, way before they made it _too_ easy."

"It looks kind of cool," Judy stated somewhat lamely as she tried to read the remains of the plastic packaging.

Nick gave the bunny a warm smile. "I have the feeling you don't know what all the hype is about, Carrots," he stated with a gently teasing tone. "Fear not! Your strikingly handsome and _foxy_ partner is here to save the day of your ignorance! Prepare to be informed!" The fox shot his hand into the air, mimicking the heroic pose that hundreds of comic book superheros shared.

Judy rolled her eyes, though her traitorous lips turned up in a smile. "Go on then, Slick. Inform me."

"Well, these were only ever released in Zootopia, which is why you never heard of them. These bad boys were super special for their time, seeing as they were one of the first toys to have an advertising campaign that equally targeted both pred and prey kids. Sure, they were a little ahead of their time, but as a toy, they really did work. I remember seeing all the other kids, no matter what species, playing with the yo-yos together. Boy, was I jealous, but now I have my own!" Nick exclaimed as he held the toy up in the air. Judy half-expected a shaft of holy light to shine down upon her partner as an angelic choir sounded out of nowhere.

The rest of the presents took on this similar pattern. The note would leave both mammals in a gentle emotional tizzy, and then Nick would get overly excited with his new present. He got everything he had ever wanted growing up: from cool hats that – sadly – no longer fit him, to signed baseballs from some of his favorite players, to toys that practically didn't exist anymore.

Nick and Judy finally reached the last present. It was the smallest of the group, yet both mammals had a feeling that it was going to have the most impact. Nick quickly removed the note from the box and began reading it aloud.

"Dear Nick,  
If you're reading this, you better be in my arms! I miss you, son. I miss you so much that it hurts. But I can't ever blame you for running away; I can only blame myself. Those mammals who had hurt you, they didn't know the _real_ you. The mammals who constantly shun and push you away – they don't know you either. Don't take their attitudes personally, okay?  
I saw you on the news the other day. You helped that officer solve the Night Howler Case, I think it was called. You have no idea how proud I was when I saw you standing there, next to that bunny. It wasn't hard to tell that you two were good friends. That got me thinking: what if you found someone like her? Someone who would see the _real_ you?  
Well, this present is for that special girl. I want you to go out there and find someone who loves you for who you are. You deserve to be happy, Nicky, no matter what anyone tells you. Plus, this means that you _have_ to come home so I can meet this special girl, so it's a win-win situation!  
I look forward to the day that you bring home that special girl, Nick.  
With all of my love,  
Mom"

Nick slowly set the note on top of the others on the desk as he struggled to keep his emotions in check. He could tell by the way Judy's nose twitched and the way that her ears were folded against her head that she was in the same boat. Turning his attention back to the present in his paws, Nick felt his heart catch in his throat. He knew exactly what it was, and for some reason, that made the entire package all the more valuable. Nick took his time as he gently peeled off the wrapping paper, and he handled the present as if it were something fragile and alive.

In the fox's paw now sat a small black box. The exterior was soft and fuzzy, though Nick knew that the real treasure lay inside. As he took care to gently open the lid, he couldn't help but think that he must look like a sloth to Judy. A smiled crept over his face at the thought.

"Judy," Nick said, his voice thick with emotion as he finished opening the box. "Come and see this."

The bunny crawled over the bed to sit beside Nick and peered over his shoulder. Her eyes widened and her breath caught in her throat as she laid eyes on the most beautiful ring she had ever seen. The band itself was made of silver that glinted in the small amount of sunlight that snuck in through the window. The diamond was breathtaking in and of itself, but the way the light hit it changed it into a piece of living mineral. It shimmered and shone as Nick tilted it to get a better view, and Judy had never felt more jealous of anyone else in her entire life.

"You're gonna make one lucky vixen _very_ happy, Nick," the bunny said before she even knew what she was doing. Her tone of voice was sad and heavy, but she knew that she would be happy for Nick no matter what. This didn't keep her from being embarrassed about the slip-up, however.

Nick turned to the bunny, somewhat surprised at what she had said. He would be lying if he stated that it didn't hurt to hear Judy assume that he would marry a vixen, just like his mother had. His conversation with Marian suddenly flashed through his mind, and Nick felt a strange wave of heat crawl up the back of his neck.

 _"I've seen the way you look at her,"_ she had said. And when he had mumbled about them not being together, she had calmly replied with, _"Not yet, you aren't."_

The more Nick thought about it, the more he realized that he wasn't interested in a vixen right now. He wanted the bunny who had changed his life for the better, who had helped reunite him with his mother. He wanted the bunny who was sitting next to him, very much in need of some cheering up right now.

Nick gently placed the box on the desk as he turned towards Judy. His throat went dry, and his fur stood on end out of anticipation. He gently cupped the bunny's cheek with his paw, and their eyes locked. Her gaze was surprised but hopeful, yet he couldn't bring himself to give her a reassuring smile as his nerves got the best of him. Instead, he leaned forward and closed his eyes. He knew that this was a risky gamble, but it was one that he was more than willing to take.

When their lips finally locked, Nick was sure that electricity was flowing through his veins instead of blood. A warm tingle ran through his entire body and left behind a pleasing satisfaction. The fox felt Judy melt into the embrace, and their arms slowly wrapped around each other. They broke for air only to continue their kiss a split second later. Nick couldn't suppress a low whine as he began to eagerly kiss the bunny, who seemed to mirror his desire.

Judy was a bit nervous when Nick had cupped her cheek, and even more so as he slowly advanced. She kept telling herself that this must be a dream – that this can't be real. If it was a dream, though, Judy was confident that she'd never want to wake up. It was only when her lips locked with Nick's did she realize that this was really happening. Their feelings for each other were mutual. Judy had never been so happy in her life.

As her paws began to freely and shamelessly roam over Nick's lean body, Judy pressed as much of herself into the fox as possible. All she wanted was to be surrounded by him, protected from the rest of the world.

Nick felt his paws become a bit adventurous as well, though he made sure that he didn't go where it wasn't necessary. Judy felt so fragile in his paws, yet so strong and determined. His tail wrapped around the bunny, creating a fluffy blanket for her. Nick realized then that he wanted this everyday: to have Judy in his arms as they enjoyed each other.

After more than enough time to make out, a voice from the door caught both mammals' attention. Both Nick and Judy were quite shocked as their eyes whipped towards the door, and their embarrassment only grew when they realized that it was Marian standing there with a knowing smirk on her face.

"Nick, I know I wasn't around for the teen years, but I guess now's as good a time as any. No sex until you're married, got it?" the vixen scolded, though her struggle to keep a straight face was visible to the flustered fox and bunny.

"B-but Mom, we weren't –" Nick stuttered, though he made no move to break his embrace with Judy.

Marian cut him off. "I don't want to hear it! I will not raise my son to go around and break good girls' hearts because he can't commit. Now, both of you will follow me to the living room, where we have snacks and drinks ready for a nice little party. I do believe congratulations are in order!" the vixen winked at the two mammals before leaving the room.

Nick and Judy remained still for a few moments as they both processed what had happened. It wasn't long, though, before they both glanced at each other and burst into laughter. While they were reluctant to end their make-out session, their stomachs quickly made an executive decision for them in the form of a unanimous grumble. The two cops, however, did hold hands as they made their way into the living room.

The fox and bunny were met with quite the sight when they entered the large room. A radio tucked into the bookshelf towards the back of the room played Christmas music. The coffee table was covered with bowls and plates of different treats, including, but not limited to caramel popcorn, candy canes, cheesecake, hors d'oeuvres, and various fruits. Unsurprisingly, there was also a bowl of punch and some eggnog as well.

"There you two lovebirds are!" Marian called out with a broad smile on her face. "I feel so honored, knowing that you two came to your senses in my home. It's times like these that I'm proud to be a mother." The vixen pretended to wipe a tear from her eye – all the more evidence that she was, in fact, Nick's mother.

Just as Nick opened his mouth to say something, Marian quickly sprang forward and grabbed the two's interlocked paws. "Come on! It's time have some fun! Help yourself to the snacks, but be prepared to sing some Christmas carols. You've got a _lot_ to catch up on, Nicky."

Nick didn't need to be told twice as he immediately made a beeline for the snacks. He grabbed a paper plate and began piling on the sweets and treats, though he did throw in a bit of fruit after catching the gentle glare from his bunny. Judy and Marian soon followed suit, though they didn't get as much food as the fox.

The next few moments were rather silent as the trio of mammals filled their bellies, but soon the house was filled with the sound of laughter and singing as the impromptu party went on. Nick and Judy told some of their stories on the force, including how they stopped Bellwether during the Night Howler case. In return, Marian told of her adventures while Nick was gone.

"I did miss you, but boy, was I able to go out and do some fun things without you," the vixen had teased after listing off the many vacations and recreational activities she had participated in. Nick was surprised to hear that her mother was quite the daredevil, and jokingly decided to keep her in check so he wouldn't lose her any time soon.

All three mammals soon broke out into random Christmas carols, but with how off-key they sounded, one would think that the eggnog had been spiked. Judy was feeling rather affectionate throughout the night, as proved by how she hardly left Nick's side. Marian couldn't keep the smile off of her face as she saw how happy her son was with this bunny.

 _Yep, definitely a keeper,_ the vixen thought to herself.

Eventually, as the night went on, the foxes and bunny slowly lost their energy and took to lounging about in the living room. Judy comfortably sat in Nick's lap while the fox wrapped his arms and tail around her. His muzzle lay between her ears, much to her enjoyment and amusement. Marian sat in a rocking chair across from them, a happy gleam in her eyes.

"Judy, thank you for bringing him home to me." The vixen smiled warmly. "I don't think I've had a better Christmas."

"You're welcome, Marian," the bunny replied, blushing slightly. "Thanks for inadvertently getting us together."

The bunny felt rather than heard Nick's chuckle, but she heard Marian's. "You're quite welcome, dear. If I know anything about my Nick, it's that he's actually quite emotional. Why do you think he tries to hide everything?"

"Speak for yourself, Mom," Nick teased as he gently stroked one of Judy's ears. "I saw those tears dried into those notes you left me."

"Oh hush," the vixen brushed off with a dismissive wave, her lips still continuing to betray her with a smile.

Nick looked down at the bunny in his arms and felt a warm flutter in his chest. "I agree that this has been the best Christmas yet," he admitted with a gentle kiss between Judy's ears.

"Me too, Nick," Judy mumbled as her eyelids grew heavy. Nick's warmth was very inviting, and the possibly spiked eggnog was starting to get to her. "Merry Christmas." With that, she fell asleep.

Nick noticed this and faintly chuckled. "Merry Christmas, Carrots."

 **That was a long one, huh? I won't be updating this Friday, so I hope that this can satisfy your cravings until next year.**

 **I had a** _ **ton**_ **of fun with this one. The request was fairly simple but very interesting: Nick and Judy visit Nick's mother, but she pretends to be all mean before actually being nice. We changed it to fit a Christmas theme, and then I added on to it, because why not? Might as well make it as Christmas-y as possible; you know, those cheesy romance movies that still manage to warm your heart – kinda. BeecroftA, I hope this was to your liking!**

 **Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed that as much as I enjoyed writing it, and I'll see you guys soon! Until next time!**


	5. A Hungry Bun is an Angry Bun

**Well, long time no see, eh? Sorry that I've been inactive recently. School started up again, I got a new job, and I've been really working hard on this request. I feel as it's very important to me, since it will most likely be the last bit of writing that I do for now. School has just gotten to be too much, as well as my job, so I don't have anymore time to write. But, I did get this request done, so I'm happy. This was really hard to write because I had to get the emotional feel of the whole scenario planned out and written** _ **just**_ **right, which meant that I had a lot of rewrites. But that's enough blabbing. I hope this chapter is to your liking, because it's gonna be the last one you get for a while. And of course, cover art is used with permission from Birchly.**

A Hungry Bun is an Angry Bun

Requested by Sksmzmmz

Nick walked into the house. He threw his shirt to the ground. He walked into the kitchen. He grabbed a cup out of the cabinet. He placed the cup under the faucet. He turned on the faucet. Water poured out from the faucet. Water filled the cup. Nick turned off the faucet. Water stopped filling the cup. The cup was full of water. Nick took a drink of the water. Nick wasn't thirsty anymore. . .

"I wonder how Judy is doing?" he wonders. He takes another drink. He is even less thirsty than before. He smiles at the cup of water. The cup of water is good. He takes another drink. . .

"Nic!" a voice would come from the bedroom. Nick would turn around. He would set the cup on the counter. He would listen again. He would wait to see if the voice would sound again. . .

"nick!" the voice called out. Nick knew who was calling him. It was Judy. Judy was a bunny. Judy was also his best friend. He was roommates with his best friend. He was also partners with his best friend. They were cops. They were the best cops. They solved cases. They beat the bad guys. . .

But Judy doesn't worked a lot anymore. Not after Clawhauser showed her donuts. Judy had one donut. And another one. And another one. Another one. Another one. She has ate many donuts. Donuts were good. Good for the stomach and soul. Judy knew this so she ate a bunch of them all the time. At first everything was alright since she doesn't gain any weight. Nick didn't stop her because he thinks that she will stop herself and be smart with the donuts but he is wrong. . .

"Nick! Come here!" Judy calls out again sounding angery. Nick sighed and facepalmed. He didn't like her when she was angry. . .

"Coming Carrot!" he called back and finished his water. He sets the cup in the sink making a note in his mind to wash it later. . .

"Cool and good," Judy called back before Nick started walked into the hallway. It was a long hallway so it took Nick a while to get to the bedrrom. The door to the bedroom was big. Why was it big? Nick knew and he was going to tell us. . .

"Not right now," he says to us. How rude of him. Nick is mean. But back to the story. Nick opened the big door that is big for some reason that we don't know and walks into the room. It is dark in the room but not for Nic. Nick has night vision so he knew what would be in the room. . .

However he is nice enough to turn on a light for us showing us what was in the room It was a bed. There were also some dressers and a closet. And a desk and a window. It was Nick's bedroom. He had to give it up and renovate it because Judy kept eating all the donuts. The donuts didn't make her not hungry they made her more hungry it seemed. Nick didn't know why. Judy didn't know why. But Judy knew that she loved donuts and she wanted donuts right now. . .

However he is nice enough to turn on a light for us showing us what was in the room It was a bed. There were also some dressers and a closet. And a desk and a window. It was Nick's bedroom. He had to give it up and renovate it because Judy kept eating all the donuts. The donuts didn't make her not hungry they made her more hungry it seemed. Nick didn't know why. Judy didn't know why. But Judy knew that she loved donuts and she wanted donuts right now. . .

"Nick! I want donuts right now!" the bunny said to the fox in anger tone. Nick rolled his eyes. "No you do not want donuts Carrots," he said back. "They made you fat."

The fox gestured to the near-comatose bunny on the bed with a sneer as he said this, proving his point. Judy lay on the plump mattress sized for a larger mammal, like a rhino or an elephant. Her massive, girth of a belly rippled with each rise and fall of her chest, the fur-covered skin flowing like molten muscle. The fat oozed off the edges of the gigantic bed and pooled onto the floor in an oddly grotesque fashion; puddles of gray fur pouring from the vast source that was Fat Judy. However, despite the disgusting inflation of her stomach, her remaining limbs and body parts remained relatively the same. Sure, her usually lithe arms and legs were _much_ chubbier, and her cheeks were rather poofy, but one could tell that it was still Judy under all that jiggling muscle.

Judy scoffs, "I'm not fat. I'm cuddly."

Nick: "You're dripping on the floor." He points to some Judy on the floor with this finger and sneers at the weird sight with confusion and a little disgust. It was disgusting seeing judy pour onto the floor but thats what she got for being fat. . .

"Cuz I'm so hot!" Judy replied bringing a paw to her forehead in a sexy pose. Her belly wasn't sexy so Nick wasn't affected. Or was he?

"Yes you are hot but you need to work out. You can die for being too fat." Nick said matter-of-factly nodding his head as he said so. He crosses his arms to look more important as he says this. . .

Judy would look at the fox with confusion, confusion filling her eyes. "Who said that?" she asked scratching her head as she reached for another donut and ate it. It was chocolate flavored. It was a good donut. Judy grew more fat and the bed creaked. Maybe it would break soon if Judy got fat enough. Maybe. . .

The fat police," said Nick response showing his badge. Sure enough he was a part of the fat police now protecting the city from getting too fat. His first arrest would be Judy so he could get her some help. But how was he going to get her out of the bedroom since she was so fat? That question he would have to answer himself. . .

"Why are you a part of the fat police now Nick?" the really fat bunny asked sounding a bit hurt that her best friend and crush would betray her like this and leave her behind to be fat. That was very mean of him to be sure. . .

"because I need to help you get not fat again Judy. I need my partner back. I miss you." Nick said almost confessing his feelings but not yet. He could do that after judy was back to normal again with him. But first he needed to help get Judy out of being fat and into not being fat. It was going to be hard since the power of the donuts was too powerful. Then Nick had an idea. . .

"What if the mammals who are making the donuts are trying to take over the city?" nick thought his face lighting up with joy at finding a new case. He took the box of donuts from Judy. Judy was sorta mad but she could see the happiness on Nick's face. Nick was really happy as he looked at the box of donuts. Surely it would tell him where to go to stop the evil plans of the donut makers. . .

"What are you looking for Nick? Judy asked wishing she wasn't so fat so she could see what Nick was looking for. . .

"What are you looking for Nick? Judy asked wishing she wasn't so fat so she could see what Nick was looking for. . .

Aha! "Nick exclaims and pointed at the box's lid. Right on top of the lid in obvious font and colors and letters and words was the logo and address of the donut shop. It told Nick the font and colors and letters and words and logo and address of the donut shop that he needed to find so it was perfect that he had found that clue when he had the chance. . .

"I found out who did this to you. If we are lucky than they can reverse this curse on you and make you normal again." Nick said as he took a picture of the lid so he could remember the font and colors and letters and words and logo and address of the donut shop that he needed to find so it was perfect that he had found that clue when he had the chance. . .

"Don't worry Judy I will go and get them and bring them back here to take this curse off of you. Don't eat any donut while I'm gone okay Carrots?" nick asked as he put his shirt back on and became a cop again. Judy blushed a bit as she looked at Nick. He was hot in uniform but she was ugly as a fat. Maybe the bad guy he would bring back would help. . .

The fat bunny nodded. "okay; no donuts for me then. Go help fix mee!" She called as Nick ran out the door like the superhero cop he was always on the move and always ready to save the day. He was going to save the day this time he was sure. If Judy was in trouble, he would save the day for her always. He love her even if she was fat; he was going to save the day. . .

He finds the evil lair of the evil bad guy who makes the evil donuts that turn everyone fatter and fatter. The sign on the evil lair said "Donut Shop – not an evil lair." Nick looked up at the sign. "Hmm. I may have the wrong place. I'll have to be careful so I don't scare innocent people. . .

Nick walked into the room to find a bunch of fat people laying on the floor including Judy. "How did you get here Judy!?" Nick asked his jaw dropping at the impossible sight. She was fat. She couldn't make it here before he did. . .

"I brought her here" came an evil voice from the back of the store. Nick turned to the bad guy to see who he was going to arrest. . .

it was Stu!?11?!

"Why did you do it Stu!?" Nick asked with an angry tone. He was so angry that Stu would do something like that to his own daughter make her fat. . .

Stu evilly grinned at nick. "It was all part of my plan. With her being fat she couldnt be on the force anymore so she would have to come back home and live with her family forever and never see you again."

Nick gasped and felt his heart sting a bit. "Is that how you want your daughter to live? Do you _really_ want to make her fat so she couldn't be on the force anymore so she would have to come back home and live with her family forever and never see me again?"

Those words spoke deep to Stu and Stu stopped. "You're right. I'm being silly. I'll take away the curse. Can you forgive me?"

Nick smiled and hugged the bunny. "Yes I can forgive you. You just wanted to make your daughter happy but instead you made her fat."

Stu chuckled and then waved his paws. Bunny magic flowed throughout the world and fixed all the fat people. Everyone was cured of every disease and predator and prey got along really well. Nick and Judy banged a lot and had tons of hybrid kips and adopted giving them one big happy family

The end. . .

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 **APRIL FOOLS!**

 **Good god, you have no idea how long I've been waiting for this year's holiday of foolery and trolling. This idea came from a glorious review on The Strongest Bonds, which you can go digging around for yourself (just use the name of the requester) or watch my first Reading Your Reviews video on YouTube, where I read and react to it. The idea of making a crap fic based on Judy being fat was too good to pass up, and boy did I have too much fun writing this. Took me all of about an hour to write, but that was most likely due to the fact that April 1st snuck up on me.**

 **Now, put down your torches and pitchforks. I'm not gonna stop writing for a while. In fact, this marks my official return to writing. Yes, you heard right, and this is no April Fools joke. I, Blenderguy15, am starting up on my writing again. Finally! Only took about 2 months. My plan is to get a backlog of requests for this story created, since this one is actually featured on ZNN. After I get enough chapters written and ready, I'm getting right back into Family Ties. I've let the ideas air out and refresh, and I've been itching to get back at it. I'm back and better than ever, guys, so let's do this!**


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